Wolves in Red
by Jirubee
Summary: Upon sneaking out of her home, Kagome traverses the Japanese countryside, only find danger lurking at nightfall. After being saved from near death, by a wily woodsman, she takes him on a journey that makes him realize what it means to live. A loose take on Little Red Riding Hood. And, so much WAFF you'll probably bleed heart sparkles for days.
1. Chapter 1

Wolves in Red.

AU. InuYasha and Kagome. A very loose take on Little Red Riding Hood.

Upon sneaking out of her communal home to see her ailing mother in the city, Kagome's noble action is left within the salvating mouthes of wolves. Luckily for her, a wily woodsman happened upon her, leaving her with nothing but questions and a comfort she hadn't held since she was a child.

AN: Alright. So, I've been working on this off and on for a while, and I decided to post it. I know I have a lot of other things going on, which I'm also working on, but my time has been a bit pressed on completing them.

This is only going to be a few, probably no more than 5, chapters long.

I would like to indicate, that this is set in the early 1940's. Most people traveled by foot, bus and train, and I chose for Kagome to travel by foot because she was, infact, poor. I really enjoy the idea of Little Red Riding Hood, even if it's in a vague manner. I've always enjoyed the premise of seeing Kagome being somewhat helpless, but as being a siren of sorts, as well.

I'm rambling quite a bit in this AN, and I apologize. Haha.

The crispness of winter washed away the ache that troubled her weary bones. Where was she? A dark headed woman wondered as she stumbled through the cool arms of snow. The only reminder of her surroundings were darkly rooted and deathly ill trees. In spring, they told stories of love and whimsy, but now they were as black as the shoes on her feet.

All she possessed was a broken compass, worn by the salty sea where she found it,laying bare and rusted along the shoreline, and a basket with a few measly pinches of food. Her gray eyes were misty as she looked down at the meager givings.

Her stomach rumbled as she paced on, leaving behind a trail of lonely steps in her wake. This girl, Kagome, had been wandering these woods and this desolate field for days. Her mother had taken ill, and this was a futile attempt at visiting her before her death.

Little did she know that this would be the last time she, herself, would have the luxury of seeing her home, or finding solace in the warmth of a fireplace. A shiver ran down her spine as she tugged at the drapery of cloth around her small frame. Warmth, oh a daydream from the heavens abound... What lusterous delight would have been bestowed upon her callow bones had their been the scent of smoke, and the cherry plumes kindling.

Instead, as she opened her eyes to a maze of brush, she froze. The thrumming of her heart warmed her rusted fingers, making her chapped lips purse with bewilderment. There should have been a path, had she remembered correctly.

Panic beseiged her body, smothering her beneath the waves of nervous rapture. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled the remainder of her heart into the thin air. She could barely feel her toes, and her dark hair felt like frozen straw.

The compass in her quivering hand couldn't identify her position. Looking up, the dusky was quickly drawing its gloomy blanket over the skyline, draping a heavy hand of grays and violets over the golden kiss of the sun.

At least the night before Kagome had been lucky enough to find an inn. It had been by sheer luck that she found it in the middle of the forest. An old woman and her ailing kin took her inside and fed her, bathed her, kept her safe from the wolves that they had spoken of.

Kagome wasn't as naive as most people assumed, but she still dreaded the idea of being ravaged by a beast in the night. The old folks in the townships had many a story to tell, and show their battle scars before the demons could come back for them.

"That's such a stupid fairy tale, " Kagome muttered in nothing more than a whisper, as she shrugged off the warnings. The thistles and brittle branches cut across her skin as she dug deeper into the hollow. Even in the dusty light, she could make out a clearing just beyond another bundling of trees. "See. There may be some hope after all."

After a while of staggering through vines and a few bones, from what looked like small animals, she felt the wind behind to kick around the brown leaves littering the ground. An unease settled over her as she pulled her hood over her head, protecting her ears from the sounds of ravenous creatures beginning to prowl.

She could barely breathe as she closed her eyes and ran blindly into the clearing. She couldn't comprehend that she had lost her basket and compass as she was defeaned by the sound of wolves. Her hands quivered as she stared to the sky for her direction, yet no moon was found to light her way to any form of safety.

The shrill cries became louder, rustling feet became more drum as she filled her lungs with the arctic wind that stole her warmth. Where was she? She gripped to her body as though her arms could protect her from the impeding night.

Her heart played a symphony of violence, pricking her flesh with the heat she had yearned for since she left the old inn. Looking down, she found a large branch, covered in slush in which she picked up as a pair of eyes pin pointed her from the back.

Sucking in a breath, she looked around her, fearing the sounds of crows blessing the grounds with their playful taunting. As they fluttered and flew away, she wished that she could have followed.

The ringing in her ears grew louder as snow began to fall on her coat, making a pale ash along her frame. Tears willed themselves to prick at her eyes, but withstood the meager attempts at staining her flesh.

A rumble from behind her tore her from her ruminations, and replaced them with sheer dread, fear, the realization that she would be torn apart by the voracious hunger of this starving beast. His fangs were drawn and wide, ready to engulf the tender flesh resting atop her bones.

Kagome could no longer hold the defeaning cry that erupted from her lips, clearing the forest of anything other than them. Her hand shook wildly as she held the branch in front of her. The wolf was large, black as the night, and slick and sheen to the dwindling light.

A growl penetrated the air and she closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing else that she could do. And within that moment, that her heart nearly stopped, her eyes tore open as a crescendo of gunshots rang out in a triumphant melody of disbelief.

The beast before her squealed, thumping over dead as blood splattered her face and raped her memory of any murderous display. Panting, she smeared her fingers across the warm liquid and stared at the wolf's carcass, still twitching.

Taking only a moment to catch her breath, she heard another shot and series of noises before she pushed herself to her feet and began to run. There was no way for her to know where she was going, or even care as long as it was away from the carnage she had just been bestowed.

Twigs, branches, vines, all crushed her and marred her porcelain skin with scratches and angry brushes as she tried to escape. Before she could delve any deeper, she was greeted by a tall man smoking a cigarette as he carried his axe over his shoulder. A small musket still steady in his hand.

Every breath was silent, and her eyes were fixated upon the golden eye staring back at her. The other was pinched closed, and his hair tied behind his head. She swallowed and gripped to her chest as he walked closer, unsettling the very essence in her soul.

Being cold was long since forgotten as she watched him intently place his gun back into a satchel at his side. "Awfully late for a pretty little thing to be out alone, don't you think?" He said gruffly, sweetly blowing his smoke away from her face.

The smell was oddly comforting as it was nauseating. "I-I left the town this morning. I was on my way to the city, and...and the path...it's..."

"It's long gone. It's not been there for months. All the snow ate it all up and the only way is through here, and I ain't bettin' on you making it much further." He said, hoarsely.

"Thank you for... for saving me." Kagome said, eyes wide with curiousity, spellbound relief, and something she couldn't put her finger on. The man was gruff, bristly with stubble and had two mismatched eyes she found beautifully placed. "I...I don't know what to say. I'm cold, I'm hungry, I just want to sleep and forget this happened." She began, feeling those damned tears creeping along her lashes.

The man rolled his eyes as he knelt down and shucked his coat from his shoulders, cigarette still pressed between his teeth. "What if I wasn't saving you? Hm?" He asked as he tossed it around her small frame, "What if I was going to hurt you? You ever think of that?"

Kagome shuddered in the blanketed fabric and turned away from him shamefully, as though she knew that it was a mistake in trusting him. There was no one there to know what happened to her, other than him of course. "I have no other hope but to trust you." She said softly, keeping her eyes trained on the decimated forest floor. "If you kill me, at least I know that I was torn apart by an animal."

The man smirked and gestured to his side, "Well, at least there's that right? You can either come with me, or stay here all night." He said as he brushed his fingers over the handle of his axe. "Like I said, no reason to trust me, but at least you can be some what warm." He shrugged, watching the girl's face through the darkness.

A howl made her jump and grab onto his strong arm, buring her head fearfully into his back. "I want to be safe. I don't want this." She cried, feeling his body shift.

Absently, he began trudging north and sighed. It wasn't every day he went out and found someone in his forest. Hell, he hadn't seen another person in weeks. He wasn't sure if he should have felt chivalrous for slaying the proverbial dragon, or it was just the fact he was in the right place at the right time.

Hell, he didn't even know who this girl was and she was attached to him like a child would be their mother. The entire walk home, every time a twig snapped Red, as he'd silently dubbed her, was jumping and wincing.

There was the occasional yelp and growl, but that was the price of living in the middle of _their _territory, after all. A little ways ahead of him, he saw the dim light flickering in his window. He lived in nothing more than a shanty and was perfectly content without the luxuries of the city. Fresh air, visceral natured air... that was what he yearned for.

This little broken thing beside him, she had probably never _seen _a wild animal before tonight. Songbirds and rabbits didn't count, he scowled darkly as he rubbed a weary hand over his tired face. The wind was making him ache, and his bad knees were starting to grate. Little Red couldn't know her savior was a bag of old bones, barely making it in the winter, right?

Through the silence, and big doe eyes she batted at him, he shook her off of him as they made it to the small house. Smoke coiled out of a makeshift chimney and made her body swell with that familiar scent. Upon entering, Kagome was surprised that it was neat and tidy, and almost bare.

The man looked around the door while she stood just inside, making sure there was nothing lurking around his homestead. Quietly, he latched the door and thunked his belongings on a small table he had made.

Kagome had, at some point, ran to the flickering, almost dead, fire and pressed her hands against the bricked chasm. It felt so good to _feel_ again. Thawing was the only way she could put it, really. Her swollen face was melting in the heat and soon, she removed layer by layer until she was only in her little black dress.

The man was bustling around the quaint space, fixing his furnishings with quilts and small down blankets. There was really only one room that made up his home. The only decernable space was where he slept. There were a few cracks in the walls, no decoration, and little to no room to be alone, unless you _were _alone.

Quietly, the man watched the woman brush her fingers through her long hair and pick at the drying blood on her cheeks. She looked so young, he frowned. She couldn't have been more than sixteen.

What in hell made her think that she could have survived those woods without a weapon? Or hell, without him stumbling upon her? Shit, she couldn't woo wolves with those bright, wide eyes of hers. Scoffing to himself, he grabbed a spare from his table and knelt over a pot of water he had boiled, and dipped it in.

Kagome had since sat down on a blanket and stared downcast at the floorboards. She had barely registered that he was trying to hand her the rag until water dripped onto her dress. Blinking, she smiled awkwardly and took it. "Thanks. I'm still kind of shaken." She said honestly, brushing the warm water over her cheeks. She almost nuzzled the damn thing. It felt so good to have all of that blood off of her skin and to be greeted by the sweetness of the fire.

"What's your name?" The man asked, pulling his hair out of the bind. Kagome looked up at him, inspecting the gray bleeding into the blackness around it.

"Kagome." She murmured, trying to keep her eyes from transfixing on a scar he held on his upper lip. "I didn't get yours in all of the commotion."

He grabbed his cigarettes and hunkered down in front of the fire, arm draped over his knee. "InuYasha." He rasped, "Nothing special about me." He smirked, "Just came from a long line of samurai and ended up being a woodsman. And I kill wolves for damsels in distress." He added humorously.

Kagome scowled a bit at that as she rung the rag around in her hands nervously. "I was just trying to go see my mother in the hospital." She sighed miserably. "She isn't fairing too well, so I just wanted to see her before she passed." Sadness ate at her as InuYasha nodded empathetically.

"I lost mine not too long ago. She had some illness that they couldn't cure. I'm not really all that educated, seeing as I live on my own and don't see the outside world that often."

"I snuck away from home." Kagome said with a shrug, "Well, it wasn't _my _home. It was a place for displaced children. I'm not a child, but the family that ran it let me stay because my brother lives there."

"I didn't know killing a wolf was going to be a gateway to our life stories." InuYasha was rather crass as he snuffed his cigarette out. "Only time I ever go to town is when I _have _to. I do have a friend, of sorts, that brings me things I need. I've been expecting him for a while now, but with all this snow, I can't be too hopeful. So, if you don't mind day old stew I can give you some of that."

Kagome bit her lip and nodded weakly as she wrapped her arms around her thin legs. There was something almost calming about the way InuYasha moved around her. There was a work worn man, aged by his own doing and steeled by his surroundings in which he built himself. As he moved his cast iron to the fire, he settled upon one knee and brushed a ladel through the concoction.

His axe, which her eyes gravitated to, was resting patiently to be used another day, and his simple bed was covered in ornate patchwork that had to have been made by his mother. A foolish mistake on Kagome's part made her feel almost eased that she had housing for the night.

Maybe, she thought, he would guide her somewhere safer in the morning. If she could just make it through the night, purpose would be served. Her fingers made a mess of her hair, as she tried to uncoil the curls at the ends.

Her heart was aching for home, or the memory she held of it. The home where her mother made their dinners over a fire, and bittersweet smell of persimmons cut through the air. This was the closest thing she had to that feeling and she relished it in the wake of the madness.

Indescipherable calm cascaded over them as InuYasha hunkered down with a ceramic bowl and a spoon. Kagome graciously took it and devoured her portion. She barely had time to taste it before he refilled it and handed her a cup of water.

"How old are you?" Kagome asked idly, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she sipped from the cup.

InuYasha smirked at her, "Too old." He wanted to smile, and she could tell the lines around mouth wanted to prevent it.

"Really," She said, "You look like you've been a man a while, but not terribly long."

InuYasha rolled his differential eyes and made himself a bowl of stew. "I don't know what relevance it is, but I'm twenty eight." He said sharply, "And you? You can't be a day over sixteen."

Kagome shook her head and let out a small laugh. "I'm twenty. I've been treated like an infant all my life because I look like one. My Mama told me before she went to the hospital, that I was always going to be her doll. My sister would have been twenty two this year, but she passed of Scarlet Fever a couple of years ago."

"You've lost a lot, it seems." He said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I don't let it stop me from living. Only wolves and illness can keep me from that. You stopped one of them, so now I have to hope I don't get sick." Kagome replied, leaning back upon her elbows.

"That's a good way to be. I live here because I don't want to live a lie somewhere else. I'd rather be here on my own, knowing I'm the only enemy I have." The man said quietly, watching the warmth of the fire crease over Kagome's soft features.

"Fair." Her hair fell over her shoulder, as she blew the bangs from her eyes. There was a moment where their eyes met and she felt bound to his unusual gaze. Part of her wanted to blush, that part that was still sixteen, and the woman in her made her grin crookedly instead. "I'm surprised you made me stop crying like a baby. I guess when you're truly afraid of something you just dissolve into this mess of a person."

InuYasha scratched the back of his head as he finally shed a toothy grin. "You didn't get much of a chance to grow. That's all it is. You don't know what it's like to be an adult, do you?"

Kagome furrowed her brows and lolled her head back. "I'd be a liar if I said I did. I've been given chance after chance, for all of the things I've done wrong, and I still can't get it right. I don't know why I'm telling you this. I just met you."

"I don't know why I'm talking to you, either." InuYasha retorted, making this strange nasally grunt that she found almost amusing.

"It's probably because you're alone and don't have anyone but your axe and the trees to listen."

"You a poet now?"

"No, I'm simply saying that if a person has no one to converse with, they become as stunted as one of those tree stumps I saw out there. I assume you chopped it down?"

"Of course." InuYasha said, laying himself down beside her with his head propped in his hand. "I don't think that anyone else would have bothered on those things. It's hard as shit to do that work."

"I didn't say it wasn't." Kagome exhaled, finding her full body to be almost unbearable. She was stuffed to the toes on stew and ready to collapse. "Is it okay if I have another blanket?"

InuYasha blinked at her, slightly taken by surprise at this woman. She was beautiful, smart, and was nearly murdered and kept on like nothing happened. After the crying was done, he didn't think he was going to actually have a talk with her. He felt more or less he was going to be stuck with a pillow over his head all night, wishing he had left her to die.

"Um," He cleared his throat, feeling his blood rushing to his skin. "Yeah, do you want to sleep in the bed? Who knows how long it'll be before you get to sleep in one again."

Kagome raised up and nipped at her lip slightly, causing his eyes to drift to her small teeth. "I'll be fine here, I don't want to make you give up something you need. I'm just grateful to have a fire to sit by and walls to hold me."

"Just go get in that damn bed." InuYasha said dryly, leaning behind him to grab a blanket from his old chair. Handing it to her, he nudged his head. "If you need something to sleep in, I have some clothes folded next to the bed."

Kagome finally let her flush expose itself. She quickly lowered her head as she stood upon a pair of long legs. "Thank you, InuYasha." She smiled warmly as she pattered across the wooden floor.

Her heart skipped a little as she took the liberity of diving into his pile of _folded_ clothes. There were some hakama and a few haori intermixed with Western clothing. Ever since the war, there had been such a change in Japan that she barely blamed him for being so cautious and living in the forest.

The wind could howl, and the rain could drench this house, but she doubted she was any safer anywhere else. She had never felt so secure with a man, and as she pulled a flannel shirt from the pile. InuYasha kept his eyes from wandering as she swiftly pulled the shirt over her head and let it dangle around her knees. He was so much taller than she was, that it made her feel fragile.

Cautiously, she settled a top his messy bed and watched him as he grabbed the blanket she had held and wrapped it around himself. Deep down, Kagome wanted to let her guard down at least for a little while. She felt almost delirious as her eyes began drifted between daylight realms and the blackness of their lids.

This day, these past few days, had they all been worth the trouble? She weakly mused, barely hanging on to the numbess of sleep that clung to her withering bones. The train was still running, why couldn't she have just done that? Oh, that's right... She didn't have a cent to her name.

For a moment, she gripped to her shirt collar, and inhaled the musty scent. InuYasha was eying her precariously from his perch upon the floor, which she noticed with a bruise of blush creeping on her cheeks.

Shaking her head, she washed away the absent idea that he was attracted to her and slumped back on the bed. At some point, the girl had drifted away, leaving the man sitting alone in front of the fading fire, as the wind began to sing a whistling song.

He focused on the battering branches that crossed his window, and he pushed himself to his feet. He tapped the pane with his knuckle and felt the air freeze his skin. Snow was falling a bit heavier than it had earlier in the evening and he sighed.

There seemed to be no cause for it to stop, seeing as how his luck had damned him to being so bitter and antisocial. A calloused hand brushed over his stubbly chin and he let out a groan. Maybe when he took the girl to town, he could purchase a few odds and ends in trade for his firewood.

It was probably a godsend that he found her, not only for her sake, but for his. As he sat back down, he grabbed a knife a piece wood and began to whittle. InuYasha chewed at his jaw as he hunched over his knees. Being alone, save from the patron monk bringing by his share of rations, was something he had grown accustomed to.

This little girl on his bed had the faintest of ideas about what kind of person he was, or who he really was, for that matter. The last woman that did went running out and got herself killed. He supposed trust was something that was as differential as the seasons, and held a different meaning to each person.

Alas, the rest of the night, he spent tossing and turning, whittling, smoking, and poking at the embers barely illuminating the room until his eyes blacked out.

Kagome roused at the smell of coffee, strangely enough. It filled the room with its heady stench and warm aroma. Barely parting her eyes, she rubbed them with the heels of her palms. She soon found InuYasha, dressed in black hakama and a dark haori, hunkered down over his firepit.

Looking around, she noticed it was still dark and frowned inwardly as she brushed a hand through her winding hair. "Did I sleep for long?" She asked hoarsely.

InuYasha shot her a half-hearted glance over his shoulder and grabbed a cup. "Not long enough. It's not dawn yet. I don't sleep but a few hours a night, so the monk was nice enough to bring me some of this to help me function."

Kagome pulled the blanket off the bed and took a seat beside him in his handmade chair. Looking down at the crown of his head, she noticed at the white hair curling into the darker strands like someone had spilled paint at the apex.

"Obaba made coffee every morning, too." She yawned, feeling her toes prickled by the draught.

InuYasha smirked to himself, handing her a cup as he manuevered to pull on some tabi and grab some hot rice. "The snow came down pretty hard last night, so I cleared a path out of the house this morning. I'm going to take you to town today."

Kagome's heart lumped in her throat as she downed the hot beverage. She wanted to jump and squeal, but refrained for fear of being rude. The adult in her kicked in and kept her exterior poised, while her insides churned like waves. "I appreciate it very much." She said, smiling crookedly at the man as he gave her a portion of rice.

He merely nodded in response as he ate and grabbed up his belongings. InuYasha was a man of habit, and never left home with his axe, gun, and several odds and ends that he may need. When his eyes fell on the girl, holding up her dress, he let out a sigh and headed to a closet, pulling out a stack of clothes.

"You'll freeze if you were that." He said sharply, reluctantly holding out his arms.

Kagome blinked and weakly nodded as she pulled out the clothes. Looking around the room, she realized there was no place for her to change. She was too tired to care last night, but InuYasha noticed and held a blanket in front of her.

"Go ahead." He said, "I'm not going to look at you."

"Um, thanks." Kagome muttered awkwardly. "Who's clothes are these?" She asked vacantly, as she pulled a detailed sweater over her head.

"They were my wife's." InuYasha sighed, "She died about five years ago. I bought those for her in the city because she wanted them so bad. She only got to wear them maybe twice before she died."

Kagome ran her fingers over the fine stitching, carefully pulling on a pair of buttoned black trousers. "I'm sorry. I feel terrible for wearing them." She said, "I'm afraid they'll get ruined.

"I wouldn't have offered 'em if I didn't want them to be worn." InuYasha replied softly, trying to hide the distraught rumbling in his voice. "But come on, it's going to be dawn and I've got to take this wood to town before someone else does."

Kagome nodded and picked up a Western coat from the bed and pulled it around her body. It was almost as red as hers, she smiled sadly. InuYasha bundled up and headed out the door, where she saw him dig out a rickshaw from the snow embankment.

Eagerly, she helped him load the damp trunks upon the cart, splintering her fingers with the coarse bark. InuYasha watched her out of the corner of his eye, amused by the sheer ease in which she moved.

That dark hair so heavy against her pale skin and eyes... It reminded him a little of his wife, but he stuffed those feelings down as she grabbed one arm of the cart. "What in hell are you doing?" He furrowed his brows as he lit a cigarette.

"I'm helping you." Kagome said as though it was preposterous she didn't do so.

"Get the hell out of the way. You don't have any business pulling this shit." He flailed as he tried to shoo her away.

"Just grab the other side." The girl spat. InuYasha snorted at her, but did as she said. He picked up the left arm and began to walk through the slush. The sun was barely peeking through the branches and stiff tree limbs as they made it to the thicket. Kagome's breath was stolen by the cold, making her nose ruddy like her cheeks. Whereas, InuYasha was sturdy and blanketed by his long hair and thin clothes, making it hard to settle on paying any attention to it.

They talked a little about their lives, and the things that they didn't quite particularly enjoy on their journey. Kagome had taken a genuine liking to the man, even though, when he got to talking, he was a bit crass.

It was a lot better than traveling alone, she mused, adjusting the cart as they ran over a few rocks and roots hidden beneath the snow. InuYasha laughed for the first time when she made an off hand joke about him being a hermit, and it made her stomach flutter.

The day was relatively calm, a bit windy and chillier than the day before, perhaps.

"So, how far is it to the city?" Kagome asked idly, smelling his smoke from his umpteenth cigarette.

InuYasha winced at the sky and shrugged a lanky shoulder. "I'll probably have you there by around sun down if it doesn't start snowing again."

Kagome nodded contently as they rounded a another set of dead thistle, which lead to a muddy pathway. A sign indicated they were close to a town, called Tama. She was almost delighted when they saw a few of the occupants along the road, selling their wares.

InuYasha nodded at a few and said a few words as they hit the cobble to a line of shacks and nicer establishments. There was one old building, made of crumbling brick that he stopped at and dropped his end of the rickshaw, nearly knocking her down from the surprise of its weight.

"You wait here, and don't run off with anyone, okay? I don't want someone buying you or nothin'." He grumbled, shaking out his sore hands as he entered the small structure. A few women carrying small game bristled by her looking her up and down, as though she were foreign.

They wore traditional kimono and held their bodies high beneath the hefty skins of wolves and bears. She felt out of place, especially since matters between the countries hadn't been too keen ever since the reformation.

Nervously, she chewed at her lip, waiting for the man to come back outside. It felt like hours when he finally did, followed by a handsome young man in robes. He immediately blanched when he saw Kagome, bowing and grabbing her hand gently. "My, InuYasha, did you think such a tennyo would fall in your lap!" He richly exclaimed, seeing InuYasha's expression falter as he tried unloading the cart.

"Keh. Where in hell do you get off talking to me about any woman? Just because you dress like a saint, don't make you one." InuYasha rasped, rolling his eyes at the cherubic man.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit crabby, after all. Anyone should be so lucky to have someone as beautiful as you in their company." His rosy cheeks raised in a thoughtful, humbled smile as he patted InuYasha sternly on the back. "What's your name, miss?"

Kagome brushed her hair behind her ear and looked down at her black shoes, cold and wet from the walk. "Higurashi Kagome." She bowed, making the man's eye brow arch.

"Takimaru Miroku." The man bowed in response, waiting for his friend to finish stacking his wood by the door. "How long have you known my friend here?"

"Since last night." She said in nothing more than a whisper. "I was trying to make it to the city before I got lost."

"Well, I see that you're in decent condition, so he must have done a good job taking care of you."

InuYasha's skin flushed as he grabbed the shorter man's shoulder, "Enough of that. You need anything else, you better tell me now, Miroku."

Miroku brushed away his hand, "InuYasha, I believe this will be fine for now."

Kagome listened to the men exchange a few more words before he handed him some paper and coins. InuYasha left the rickshaw against the side of the building, and waved off his friend. A few of the other townsmen stopped and chitchatted with them before they made their way to a merchant selling pickled meat and some rice.

InuYasha picked up a few odds and ends and put them in his bag. She felt guilty for staring at him, and how his body moved so gracefully. He was a strange man, but handsome and in some way, a very sweet person at that.

Whether he would ever admit it or not, that was up to him, but Kagome was a bit dejected by the idea of only having a day to spend with him. Surely, once she visited her mother, she would find a way back to him and see how he was doing. Perhaps, she would bring him a pastry from the city, or a coat, or something she could afford.

As they headed down the path, she heard the faint cry of a train rushing down the warped old tracks. "There's a train station?" She asked with some sort of hope.

InuYasha looked down at her and nodded, "Yeah, but that shit's too expenive."

Kagome smirked and grabbed his 'hand, "Tell me where to go." She said, gray eyes wide with delightful mischief. Making the best of the time she had with him seemed like a good option to her. Why not help him live a little in his awkwardness?

"It's down the hill and past the pond." He said as he felt the warm of her hand engulf his long fingers.

"Is it a station or just a drop off?" Kagome asked, picking up her pace as her hair whipped behind her, making the wind kiss her ears with its frosty mouth.

"Drop off." InuYasha answered as his feet slid slightly, fumbling down the decline over the pebbles and lost belongings on the pathway. At some point during the race, Kagome had gripped to his hand so tightly, he felt her nails drive into his skin.

He wasn't sure what it was about her, but when she smiled at him, he wanted to keep that light in her eyes focused on himself. She was so different than anyone he had ever met, but so easily trusting it made him nauseaous.

All of the breath in his lungs, and hers as well, was filled by the burn of the air prickling at their insides. Kagome was laughing, letting go of his hand only to slow herself and steady her racing heart for a moment. InuYasha held his aching knees, warming them with the residual heat Kagome had left on his hand.

Panting, he looked around, finding the smoke stack of the train decorating the air with its vile smog. "The drop off should be over there." He pointed, still hunched over his knees.

Kagome skimmed over the tree line, finding the green locomotive grinding across the curve, slowing itself to a near hault. "Thank you for everything." She said softly, not wanting to pull him behind her.

The girl fearlessly extended a hand through his curtain of hair and grabbed his chin. Eyes radiating such life. InuYasha flinched at her touch, and felt his heart rapturously beat like a drum. Her soft mouth carressed his own and retreated as soon as it had landed. "Sayonara, InuYasha." Kagome whispered, running into the forest.

The man stood spellbound, brushing his calloused thumb over his lips. He could still see her running over the snow, black hair featering in silken coils, and red coat washing away the cold.

The moment she escaped him, his body aged a thousand years. There was something within that brief gesture that made him feel alive. None of this was real, was it? How often does a woman come to his forest and need saving and stay with him without question? Sighing, he lolled his head back and closed his eyes before he ran after her.

Part of him scolded himself for being so stupid, and trusting. She would be gone like the rest of them, and only a memory in which he would have folded like a lost photo in the back of his mind. It felt like forever trying to catch her, but he _did _find her.

A middle aged couple had stepped off the train with a few European style bags in hand, and Kagome was sneaking aboard the back, holding onto the frame work as she stood on the tiny space behind the door.

InuYasha swallowed hard as he heard the gears beginning to turn. Kagome whipped around when she heard him call her name and she knelt down, extending an arm to him as she steeled herself against the railing.

It took all she had to pull him up, but latched onto him with a trembling heart. "I'm glad that you came with me." She said on baited breath, brushing back his hair from his eyes. The browns and golds gleamed in the morning light as she took his hand and sat with her legs dangling off the edge of the train.

InuYasha rested an arm on his and stared at the world he knew disappearing. One day can change so many things, but the caliber of it was still so overwhelming. Looking beside him, he listened to Kagome talking about something he didn't understand. The fear had all but subsided and the wolves in the forest were nothing but a bad dream.

And, somewhere, in the bottom of his heart, he hoped that Kagome wouldn't become the wind and disappear as swiftly as she came.

**AN: WAFF.**

**SO MUCH WAFF.**

**I hope that you guys enjoy this piece. I had a lot of fun starting it and I'm working on the next chapter now. Like I said, it will be really short since I have a lot of other pieces I need to update. Let me know what you think, good or bad. **

** Jiru**


	2. Little Talks

**AN;** AND WAFF. I don't know where all of these warm and fuzzies are coming from. I also don't know how these chapters are so flipping long! I realized that I have an 'InuYasha pattern' which is a culmination of all of my favorite things. Haha. InuYasha, facial hair, heterochromia, manliness, and smoking. That just reeks of a lumberjack, if you ask me. XD

Many many many thanks to my reviewers.

**ninjamidori - **I just love you. There, I said it. ;D

**Warm-Amber92 - **I was so excited when I read your review. I didn't know if anyone would like it at first. I'm actually already almost done with the story, so I'm going to be posting everything today and tomorrow. :3

**k.a.a-inu - **Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

**xsachi - **I seriously can't wait to post this. I can't get done with it fast enough!

**The **sun drew circles around the gray clouds, disheartening this simple wish to be anywhere but the fridge back of the train. Kagome had thought it was a blessed idea to escape the woes of walking, in trade for the steel car, ushering them to parts unknown.

Whether or not they had made any progress, truly, was beyond her. She stared in bewilderment at the mountainous range that disappeared and left behind silhouettes of their statuesque forms. InuYasha was chewing on his nails, brightly absorbing the golden light on his skin.

It pestered her to no end that she was staring at the nape of his neck, and way his breathing was always ragged. This cold was probably doing him an injustice and it made her stomach knot at her selfishness is dragging him along.

A sigh erupted from her throat as she buried deeper into the red coat. She found out that his wife's name had been Kikyo, and was beautiful as the flowers in which she was named. Much more than that would have been asking and delving too deep to recover conversation.

She did come to find out that he had been a soldier in the war, and often handled himself as a hermit because of his pride. People didn't quite understand that he was a person of his own will and mind, and sharp as tack.

Kagome waited patiently for him to speak up, but instead, he continued staring at the setting sun and the way he shuddered at the wind, and probably from his nerves. This was the first time he had been so exhilarated, he had told her, to leave his home for the night. Hell, this was the first time he had been on the train since he traded in his uniform for some rice and vinegar.

InuYasha eventually blew a wayward breath and settled down against the locked car door. His body was stiff and burned at the joints. Kagome, he smiled to himself, was tired, and lost in a daze and probably her imagination.

Part of him had romanticized this awkward and unique situation to the fullest and left a wake of ideas running through his own head. The train whistled and grinded to a halt, making them jump to reach and alert state.

Kagome was quick to grab hold, and shot up like a rocket. "We have to get off here, they'll catch us if they take out the luggage." She said quietly, helping the man up to his feet.

"If nothing else there's a town here." He said, sliding off the back of the caboose. "You'll have to see if someone takes pity on you. You've got those doe eyes so it shouldn't be a problem." He chided, reaching out his arms.

His hands latched around her waist as he helped her down, eyes meeting for a moment. The girl tore her eyes away and nodded in jest. "Well, maybe an unhappily married woman will find you to be a charmer and let _you _stay."

He was about to say something sharp, but noticed a few early prowlers lurking in the field beside the drop off. Deliberately, he placed his hands on her back and lead her towards a hill with cobble steps. "Come on, Red. I don't need wolves eating you."

Kagome tensed slightly, looking over her shoulder to see a few of the creatures sniffing around nearby. "I wasn't afraid of them until that old lady at the inn told me all sorts of stories. I know that the ones about the King of Okami aren't necessarily true..."

"Ah," InuYasha crossed his arms over his chest as he walked, watching the backs of Kagome's long legs swishing beneath the fabric. "You know, I heard that he's actually a human. He likes to prowl around what was Musashi. He likes pretty dark headed girl's with red coats and pale skin." A wide, micheivious grin settled on InuYasha's face when Kagome whipped around.

Her eyes were ferociously serious and dreaded the fear behind them. "No. Don't tease me like that! I already can never have a dog again!" She yelped, slowly letting herself giggle as she reached the lantern light at the apex of the stairs.

InuYasha's playful expression fell, giving way for an unadulterated one instead. "What's so funny?"

"I guess I need to get you a leash, then. You're the only dog I care to have around." She teased, not caring that he gave her a rather perturbed glare. Normally, InuYasha wasn't fond of plays on his name, and the fact that his family had been given such names for stemming from the Inuyama-jo.

"You know, I could just leave right now and go on my merry way." He replied seriously, waiting on the girl to fly down the steps and throw herself around him. He had watched too many films with his mother, he sighed.

"You came with me after I told you goodbye, what should make me think that you'll leave me now?" Kagome asked, eyes falling heavily upon him as though he was prey. He doubted she realized what she was doing, or that she held that alluring prowess.

It was like being submerged and realizing that you could never refill your own lungs with the sweetness of air. "Fair enough." He said, walking beside her as they passed through the bustling streets. It was an old shrine town and held a few businesses and residents, in comparision to Tama. A temple rested in the West, raised high on another set of stairs and torii to protect it from the urchin that may defile it.

The plumes of smoke rising from a bonfire made Kagome's body coil with pleasure. Her fingers knitted together as the maple leaves dissolved into dust within the fire's ravenous mouth. Each lap of its tongue absorbed and conquered another part of nature, absolving this cold with a sputter of its hot breath.

It was magical, she breathed, finally hiding her body from the formiddable wind. InuYasha probably couldn't feel his toes and she ushered his gaunt body forward. The towns-folk, dressed in traditional garb, offered up some spirits and a few of their rations in exchange for a few coins.

One man, in particular, studied Kagome from afar. He held his broom in his hand and looked over towards the lumbering idiot beside her. He wasn't much in the way of a man, he scowled, brushing off the walkway to the shrine.

His hands brushed against his hakama and settled his broom down. InuYasha leaned down to whisper something in Kagome's ear, warily walking away from her to the shrine. As he passed by, the stout man glowered and sent him a daring look.

InuYasha scoffed and headed up the incline, leaving Kagome defenseless for the time being. A few of the women had surrounded her, talking to her about her fine garments and how lucky she was that she afford them in a time of faminine and recovery. Her responses were just as surprised as their questioning, until _he _showed up.

Kagome's eyes caught his for a brief moment and she smiled awkwardly as he introduced himself. Bowing, he smiled toothily, "I'm Koga, I'll be happy to help you with anything you may need while you're here. It's not like the big cities or anything fancy, like what you seem to be used to, but it's a pretty nice place."

The girl bit her lip as she told him her name and declined the offer as politely as possible. She quickly realized that his scowl was fixed and had taken offense to her refusal. "Koga-sama, I didn't mean to be rude. I have to make it to the city soon. My companion and I have to be there some time tonight, but thank you for your offer."

"Are you seein' that man you were with?" Koga asked bluntly, tossing his bound hair over his shoulder pompously.

Kagome shook her head, "No, but that doesn't matter."

"I don't see what the harm is in coming with me for a drink and some food would hurt." He pleaded with a cheeky grin. Kagome gathered that it wasn't all that innocent of a smile. She was pretty dumb sometimes, but this certainly was a situation where she wasn't so stupid.

Kagome smiled and sat her drink down on a bench and began to walk away, heading for the heart of the small town. There was an inn in which she bustled in and plopped down on a Western sofa, hoping that she had lost in him in the evening commotion.

There were a few passing patrons checking in, and she waited patiently to ask the rate. It couldn't have been too terribly expensive, but the entire building was furnished with American memorbilia and the woman behind the counter was obviously foreign.

She must have lived on a military base nearby and chose to stay after the war was over. After the other patrons were gone, she settled her green eyes on Kagome and leaned over the counter. Her language skills were fairly decent and helped herself to some light jokes and pricing while the girl waited.

"Are you looking for your honey?" The red-headed woman teased, watching Kagome peek out of the window cautiously.

When she turned back around, the girl blushed and looked at her messy shoes. "No ma'am. My friend, yes." She said quietly, hoping that Koga hadn't seen her through the window. "I do have a suitor that really doesn't get the hint."

"Oh? Is that boy from the shrine?" She asked, tapping her pen to the music from her radio.

"Um, I suppose so. I didn't see where he had come from." Kagome said.

"That Koga boy?" The woman asked. "He's a handful. He loves women. If I were you I'd fine you a man before he takes you away to his cave and eats you whole."

"What?" Kagome blanched, furrowing her brows, desperately wanting InuYasha to turn up.

"He's as hungry as a wolf, sweetheart. You know how men are."

"The man I'm with hasn't once tried to touch me inappropriately."

"He's obvious a gentleman." The woman responded as she let out a sigh. Her eyes darted towards the clock on the wall and looked at Kagome. "Are you going to be staying with us this evening?"

The girl pressed her lips together, "I'm not sure. I don't have any money, and I don't know if he can afford to spend it on a room."

The woman looked out the window to see Koga looking around with a handful of food in his hands, scowling. "Well, I'll make a deal with you." She said, bringing her eyes back towards Kagome's forlorn form. "How about you help the girls in the kitchen clean up and mop and things like that, and I'll let you stay. In the morning, before you leave, wash the windows and have your friend sweep the walkway of snow, and I don't see how much of a problem it will be."

Kagome's eyes lit up and bones rattled with delight. "Arigato," She muttered, lowering her head in thanks. "Do you know how far it is to Tokyo from here? My mother is in the hospital in the city, and I need to get to her as quickly as possible."

The woman rested her arms on the white counter, eying the map in the corner of her the room. "I'd say, by train about two hours. By foot, probably half a day, if you run in this weather."

"That's not too bad, after all. Does the train stop here again?"

"Early, usually. There's normally one before seven in the morning." She guessed.

"I appreciate this." Kagome said softly, raising to write her name in the guestbook at the counter. The woman read her name and smiled a little.

"I've never heard of a girl with that name. Just that old children's song, and all."

"My father met my mother playing that game, so they thought it was fun to name me Kagome." She mused, content to be speaking about her father.

"Well, it's a lovely name and it suits you." The woman grinned, "They call me Ayame."

"Are you-"

"No, my mother was German and my father was Japanese. I didn't get much of that delicate beauty that my brothers, oddly enough, have." She laughed, "I look like a tall, gangly demon more than a pretty woman. That's what Koga's told me, anyway."

The girl frowned at that, "That's very rude of him. I wish that I wasn't plain looking. You're very lucky to look so exotic."

"You hush, you just go find that man friend of yours and get back in here and eat something. I'm sure you've gotten free board everywhere you've been, haven't you?" She crossed her arms playfully over her chest.

"Um, I suppose I've been very lucky." Kagome said, placing her small hands into her coat pockets, picking at the silky lining.

"I'd say it's because you just bat those peculiar eyes and eat up someone's soul. You're eyes say a lot about you, and yours are filled with something special. Mine are filled with spring time, and yours have secrets. Every now and then, there's a siren or two that comes washing on shore. And like I said, you go find that sailor."

Kagome bit her lip and rushed back into the cold of the night, searching for InuYasha. She saw Koga, wrapped up in a pelt, eating his onigiri in defeat. A few girls were hunkered down beside him, flirting and sweetly telling him stories about their travels.

How they weren't all freezing to death was beyond her. She could barely stand to be outside anymore, let alone wonder how InuYasha was still even alive after today. Sighing steam into the air, Kagome darted in and out of buildings, and made her way to the shrine.

Looking over her shoulder, she rushed up the steps into the darkness. A top the platform, a few lanterns still hung like stars lighting her way, and she found InuYasha sitting on the side of bench, holding his head in his hands.

Her eyebrows knitted together, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Instead, he just sat shivering, chattering his teeth in resolve. Sniveling, Kagome pulled the coat from her body and let the air cut across her warmth from each stitch.

InuYasha raised his head when he heard the soft tapping from her shoes, and sent her a jaded smile. His hands wove together as he blew a hot breath into his palms. "Ready to go?" He asked, feeling the wool coat fall around his shoulders.

Kagome lowered her head, raising his chin with her fingers. He couldn't look away from her, and she stiffened her jaw almost scoldingly. "You can't stay out here like this. The entire way here, I noticed you have a little bit of a limp. You probably have bad knees, and you don't need to be sitting out in the cold, it'll only make it worse."

InuYasha wanted to bite her head off for mentioning a weakness that he couldn't help. "Fine. I don't need you babying me. I've never needed it, and I don't need you to start, okay?"

Kagome challenged the discoloration of his stare and leaned back, extending her hand to him. "Then take my hand and as soon as you get down the stairs, I won't."

InuYasha scowled at her before he relented. He didn't let her see the way his teeth clamped down as he applied pressure onto them, or the way he wanted to scream out at the way they started grinding as he walked. This was part of the reason he dreaded winter, but it was his own will that had made him follow her.

He couldn't be mad at her for it, now could he? Sighing, when they made it to the base of the stairs, he swallowed before pulling a cigarette out. Quietly, he leaned against a tree and smoked contentedly as Kagome kicked at the snow around her feet. "I got a room for the night. I just have to help the girls clean and work a little outside."

"You're a little fox, aren't you?" InuYasha said, blowing his bangs from his eyes.

"Only if Ayame-sama swings that way." Kagome said as a matter of factly. "I've been chased down by this boy all night and I think she likes him a little. She was pretty quick to call me out on it, and it was a bit upsetting."

InuYasha narrowed his eyes a little and held his cigarette between his teeth. "What boy?" He asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy. It bewildered him as to why he felt tha way. He had no ownership to this girl, or knew her that well for that matter.

"Um," Kagome stood on her toes, pointing out the boy sitting hanging around the edge of town. "That one, the one with the ponytail. He was nice, but he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. I can feel it. There's something not right about him."

"You can tell that by looking at the sap?" InuYasha asked, uncrossing his arm from his chest.

"I pinned you pretty well, didn't I?" Kagome retorted, heading towards the street. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder, sending him that damn look again. "Are you coming?"

InuYasha rolled his eyes and flicked his cigarette across the slick pavement. "Fine." He said, willingly following her. Although, he did keep an extra close eye on that man. It made sense why he had sent him such a deplorable glare earlier, and it made him a bit smug when he looked his way.

Idly, InuYasha reached forward and grabbed Kagome's arm, pulling her closer. She flinched and glanced upward at him in surprise. "Are you alright?" She asked genuinely.

Leanging down, he brushed his lips over her ear accidentally as he told her his intentions. The action made her shudder as they wove into the inn. Ayame introduced herself and escorted them to a small room, still adorned with Western styled furniture. There was one larger bed and a cot she pulled from beneath it.

A smile landed on her face as she watched the way the man looked at the girl. "You know, I don't know why you need the cot." She sighed, brushing her hand against the curls resting on her neck.

"Oh, um, we aren't..." InuYasha stammered, slipping the coat off his shoulders.

"I know, sweetheart. It's just a shame." Ayame said, leaving a lingering gaze over Kagome as she walked out of the room. "When you get settled come and eat and we'll get you tucked in for bed." She said as she shut the door behind her.

Kagome rubbed her cheeks and looked into the empty closet, and opened the lacquered nightstand and fiddled with lamps. InuYasha sat on the cot, rubbing his knees. "Are you hungry?" The girl asked, peeling back the plush covers on the bed.

InuYasha nodded absently, carefully untying his haori with one hand. "Yeah, I need to lay down for a while, if you don't mind."

Kagome walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. He arched a brow at her and readied himself for anything she may have said. That girl was turning out to be a pistol, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. "Hand me your bag." She said, holding out her hand.

Yet, as much as he had complained about her helping, he handed it to her and let her sit it on the nightstand. In the low light, she looked so pensive, and ethereal. He wanted to know what it was like to actually touch her, and not these little brushes or restless hand holding that lead them here.

She bustled about, pulling back the covers some more and helped him up and he didn't question her as she helped him in bed, and tucked him in. He was sitting sitting up, confused by the action until she left the room and returned with a bowl of warm rice and river fish.

She plopped down on the opposite side of the bed and dove into her food. InuYasha thought she was a bit insane, but that was always interesting in its own way. There was a comfortable silence that fell over them as they sat beside one another.

They were lonely and lost, but it made sense that they found such peace in like company. Kagome, no matter how he met her, was like a breath of fresh air. Hell, he had barely missed living alone in his old shack, or thought of it at all.

As he picked at his dinner, he lolled his head back against the wall and turned to look at her. She picked up a map from the front of the inn and held it in front of her crossed legs. She was truly terrible with directions, but made imaginary lines with her fingers.

All he could think of was brushing her hair away from her face so he could see it. It almost pained him that such a simple gesture was so tempting. So, mustering up his courage, he extended his hands and pushed back the inky locks behind her ear.

There was nothing truly profound in the gesture, but Kagome's hand absently shot up and held onto his fingers as she inspected the map. If she had looked up, she would have seen the flush reds and pinks lining his flesh. She probably felt the rapt beating of his heart through his fingers, but insisted on ignoring it.

Quietly, he licked his lips and sat his bowl down. Kagome had since done the same and chewed at her thumb, still puzzled by the multitude of colorful lines darting across the paper. InuYasha felt perverse staring at her, but he was so enthralled by the way her lashes batted and the way her mouth quirked when she was confused.

He swallowed hard as he closed his eyes and leaned forward. Kagome let of his hand when she felt his own hand turn her face to his. She was met by a soft kiss, that lingered for a moment. It was warm, soothing to the chill that remained on her lips.

Her body melted at the contact, letting them sit in that position for a few moments longer than it was probably intended. When he tried to pull away, her fingers wround into his hair, pulling him closer, moving her mouth delicately against his.

It was the first real kiss she had ever been given and the feel of it was heady, miraculously to feel what had been told to her so many times. He tasted sweet over the taste of his cigarettes and was gentle in his endeavor.

Just the night before, she would have slapped him and ran into the night screaming. Yet, as she ran her fingers through his coarse hair, she reveled in the action. His own hands trembled as he let it slip to the smooth skin on her throat.

Upon opening her eyes, she was aware of the world that existed outside of those brief seconds that felt like an infinite loop replaying in her head. InuYasha pulled back hesitantly and inhaled a deep breath before scrabbling for his bag. He knocked over the lamp, blowing out the bulb as he fumbled off the bed.

He brushed his hands through his hair and swallowed all of the sweetness remaining on his tongue. "I'm going to go for a smoke," His voice cracked, as he thumped out of the room, leaving Kagome covering her mouth.

Ayame peeked back after knocking lightly, shedding a knowing grin. "Oh, he's a sly devil, isn't he? What on earth did you do to that boy to make him nearly run into a wall?" Her hand landed on her shoulder as the girl hunched over and giggled almost childishly.

"He can blame himself for giving me my first real kiss." She said proudly, running her tongue lightly over her bruised lip.

"I guess I need to give him his own room so he isn't running out of here when he gets in over his head." Ayame sighed breathily. She was a statuesque woman and had all the flair of a movie star, and it baffled Kagome as to why she ran an inn in the middle of nowhere.

"There's not going to be any of that. He's just lonely," Kagome said earnestly. Her hands gripped to the bowls beside the bed and pushed herself to her feet. "He's a very sweet man, I guess I just came blowing in like a hurricane scare him."

"Well, truth be told, since I don't know either of you, I guess I should let your words speak louder than the blush on his cheeks. It doesn't matter how long you know someone before you can love them, you know? At least that's the romantic in me talking..."

Kagome blushed, herself, and followed Ayame's tall body into the hallway. "Romance is in novels, Miss Ayame. You just have to take these experiences and hope that they evolve into something worth something to you." She shrugged beneath her ornate sweater and was shown the door to the kitchen.

"Tell you what, Kagome-chan..." Ayame humbled herself by placing her painted hands over the girl's thin shoulders. "You clean extra hard and I'll give you the fare for a train ride to see your mother. I think she would be very pleased to know such a kind man had found you. I know that my mother would have, at the very least."

The girl felt tears prick the backs of her eyes as she let the woman embrace her. She mothered her and patted the back of her head, cooing over how wonderful of a person she must have been. When she released her, Kagome ran into the kitchen were a pair of younger women bustled around, soaking brass pots in a sink.

They looked at Kagome in awe, and ran to her admiring her clothes. The older girl bent down and looked at the large buttons on the front of her trousers. "Those are so fine! You must be so lucky to have afforded those!"

Kagome laughed and sat the bowls down in the sink as she looked around the sterile metal surfaces for a rag. "These aren't mine. I was actually surprised how much people like them. I only have one dress that my father bought me, other than that I wear kimono." She laughed, looking at the girl's rosy cheeks and dark eyes.

"Either way, they look wonderful. I've been saving all of my spare money, that I don't have to send to my brother's orphanage. I would love to have just one of those." She said dreamily, wishing for the melancholy in her voice to drift away.

Kagome smile sadly at her for a moment. "My name's Kagome."

"Sango," The girl replied contently. "Sorry for all the sad talk. I live here, and it's kind of sad I can't make enough money to have my own place." She said, "I guess I need to stop talking about my problems and work it out."

"It's alright, Sango-sama." A small voice piped up, belonging to a younger girl, no more than fifteen. "I told you that whenever my daddy gets back from China, you and your brother can live with us."

It was then Kagome admired the largest, more innocent eyes she had seen. Those suckers were like honey and as thick as molasses. "You are going to be a killer!" She exclaimed. "You should be a model, or an actress!"

Sango rolled her shoulder beneath her uniform, "I told her that, too. Rin's too shy to do it. Even though, she'd make a fine penny just having pictures taken of her!"

The girls laughed and chatted as they scrubbed the brown tile work and bleached the countertops. Kagome told them about how she ended up there, and they were entraced by her tall tale. It was almost like living in a storybook, Rin had exclaimed, lazily mopping the remaining water into the drain pan.

Sango blushed at the desciption of man from her story. "I guess he left?" She asked, brushing her damp hair from eyes.

"No, he went outside, which he shouldn't have." Kagome said in a scolding tone. "It's too cold for his arthritis." She pouted.

"So," Sango leaned against her broom before placing it back in the closet. "Can we see this mystery man, or will he run off again?"

Kagome leaned against the door and parted it to see him flipping through a magazine on the table top. He'd probably heard every word she said, and for some reason, she didn't feel any embarrassment in the notion. "He's right there." She beamed, pointing her finger at the lanky man buried beneath a blanket of hair.

Sango nearly shoved her out of the way to catch a glimpse and felt her skin rush with heat. Rin gaped at him and blurted, "You don't find something like that in the woods everyday!"

The man raised his head and pressed his mouth into an awkward smile. He hated being doting over, especially after being alone for so long. It was flattering that someone, anyone, would take kind to a hermit and a woodsman, at that. He was low on the totem pole, but held himself as though he was more than that.

Kagome listened to the girl's talk about how handsome he was and how he declined all offers to take them on dates. It was a bit endearing for someone so quiet to be joking with the maids. If she never saw this man again, she hoped that he would live outside of what he knew.

Yet, every time she looked at him, and that rugged facade that slowly chipped away, she yearned for him to be hers. It had only been a day and he had gotten under skin. Of course, Kagome would never admit it aloud that she pined for him, or that he was the knight in shining armor that she had wished for.

Such a simple man had so much to offer and the world had overlooked him, as though he were a gem stuck to a rock. After her chores were done and she jotted down the postal address for the women, she bathed and tucked herself in the bed while InuYasha sat on the cot beside her.

The day was so long, and tiring, but she failed to rest. All she could do was watch him whittle and chew on a string he had found. "InuYasha?" She called, receiving a quick glance over his shoulder. His golden eye always caught her attention and it made her heart leap into places it shouldn't have been.

"Hm?" His voice was like a crass melody, "You need something, Kagome?"

Her silvery eyes inspected him in the dim light, hoping that he would pay attention to her as he had earlier in the evening. Carefully, she slid the covers back and gestured for him to get in the bed with her. "It's better for your back and knees." She said. "If you want, I'll sleep on the cot. I put you out of your bed last night, after all."

Hesitantly, he grabbed his things and slipped into the bed. He kept distance from her, but she still was close enough that he was comfortable. She smelled like honeysuckles and whatever else she used in the bath. "What are you making?" The girl yawned, propping on her arm.

InuYasha shrugged his broad shoulder. "I'm not sure, exactly. I never am. They just kind of make themselves after you've offered enough blood." He smirked, showing her his splintered fingers.

Kagome frowned and licked her thumb, grabbing his to blot off the dried blood. "I know you work with your hands, but you need to be careful not to get an infection and lose them."

"Are you a nurse?"

"I could have been. I should have, honestly." Kagome replied, looking at the taut scarring and callouses on his palm. She held his hand upward and ran her index finger over each line intently.

Truth be told, Kagome was affection; overly so in most cases. Yet, for some reason or another, InuYasha remained still, enjoying this friendly fire. He listened to her humming when she asked him questions about his work, and answered each with no more than a few words.

This acceptance was subtle, innocent. Even in all of her worry, Kagome still held on to herself and didn't get lost in that madness that most people held. She just relaxed and took the world in with each moment that passed, InuYasha envied that about her, and found himself trying to mimic her actions.

There was no tension, no rippling applause beneath his skin to indicate anything aloof about her. He felt the same as she had the night before, and almost felt inclined to appease her. Anxiety had been a foe, but what good would it have done to sit and flitter and worry about his home in the forest?

As his eyes fell on her, he watched hers close softly a she rubbed the knots from his hands. Nervously, he swallowed and inch a little closer to the middle of the bed. Kagome leaned her head against his shoulder and gestured for his other hand, and he aptly sat his knife on the nightstand.

She continued to tend to his sore hands, and never once made him feel wrong, or mentioned the contact. He wanted to blush, but didn't have it in him anymore. The simple contact was grounding, and made his tired bones rattle as he tried to stay awake.

Just one more second of awareness with her...He yawned inwardly. The woman smiled at him, though her own exhaustion was apparent. It was late, and the hours were creeping closer towards the haunting hour of midnight.

Kagome eventually recoiled into the cotton mess of sheets. InuYasha slowly slid beneath the covers and turned on his side, staring at the locked white door. When the girl's fingers moved his long hair and slid closer, he stiffened, trying to strengthen his own will.

Feeling that small body wrap around his back and breath sweetly against his shoulderblade made him dissolve. His hand instinctively drifted through the sea of blankets to find her hand, slowly pulling her arm cover his chest while he stroked her tiny knuckles.

When her breathing slowed and dulled like water that no longer boiled, he became dazed and drunk off the feel of her body against his. His nerves wrapped up and went to sleep somewhere far away from him, and he relished in the creaking silence around him. Sleeping meant missing out on hours of time with her, but he collapsed within the arms of sleep shortly after.

This precarious girl didn't need saving, she needed to be loved. And he...

He needed something to protect and in that, he needed to find the will to truly live again. For, in the fleeting moment he had spent with this girl, he had found himself becoming more and more aware of what living actually was.


	3. Tether

**AN;** I wrote this chapter about four times and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I like it, but there are things that I can't put my finger on that makes it feel wrong. Stories often write themselves, and I always came up with the same result. I hope that you enjoy this and please feel free to let me know what you think.

AND my lovely reviewers...

k.a.a-inu; I'm very happy that you enjoyed it! I've been listening to Susumu Hirasawa and crying my eyes out all over my keyboard writing this. And thank you for reviewing and letting me know how you feel about my stories. I would feel awful if I didn't respond. I actually get upset when most authors don't, because we write these stories, not only for ourselves, but to share them. :)

Guest; Thank you! I appreciate it very much!

RavenShadow; **THANK YOU.** I wasn't sure if it was translating well, and I'm very happy that it is. I have a love of 1930-40s Japan.

Warm-Amber92; I didn't realize I had used 'wolf' so much until I went back and read it. Haha. I'm feeling all lovey dovey right now, so I'm hoping that their relationship will continue to be filled with WAFF goodness. ;)

Saria Forest14; Thank you. InuYasha in this story just makes me love him so much. They have a very sweet relationship and it's an exploration and it's so much fun to write. I haven't had this much fun writing a story in a while.

xsachi; Yay! I hope you guys like this chapter. It's the midway so, it's got some drama and a bit of creepiness!

and

ninjamidori; hearts and sparkles for you! When I went back and read it, I was kind of embarrassed for InuYasha. Haha. Kagome's all tough and alluring and tries to make all kinds of sense to her feelings. His are much more juvenile and he's just so adorable with her that I feel the same way! XD

Now, it's one in the morning and I have to stop eating ice cream and get some sleep! I hope you guys enjoy this. There most likely won't be an update tomorrow due to my love taking our laptop to work, but look for one sometime either late tomorrow night or Thursday. :)

~ Jiru

The twilight skimmed across the arctic skyline, dripping golds and ruddy smears of light across the horizon. Kagome had polished windows and also, swept the walkway for InuYasha, whom was still sleeping in the sea of blankets.

Ayame had gifted her two envelopes; one with each of their names scribed on the white paper. She left InuYasha's on the nightstand as she bathed in the tub and dressed herself for departure. They had laundered her black dress and fixed the buttons that ran down the front. She felt like a princess as she brushed her hair and pulled on her own red hood.

Kagome waited for the breakfast rush to end before she snuck a few bites of the owner's Brandy cake and relished in the bittersweet morsel melting in her mouth. Sango and Rin hugged her goodbye as InuYasha stalked out of the room in trousers and a suspended flannel shirt. The girls giggled at his clean shaven face and tied back hair, while Kagome merely smiled at _him_.

Ayame signed them out and bid them thanks a farewell, as they returned the gesture. It hadn't taken long to be hit by the steam of the bakery, kicking the air with its sweet breath in the cold. A few bundled rickshaw drivers waited at the entrace of the inn, hoping for a few more Yen in their pockets, while the fishermen and hunters set up their shops for the day.

Part of Kagome felt attached to the small town, and in particular, to Sango. They were of like age and situation and couldn't wait to write to her upon her return trip home. Looking down, the girl hadn't realized that she was holding the man's arm in her own. When she looked up at him, he seemed to be more youthful without all of the shadows crawling across his face.

He was pensive, and collected as he gently allowed her to help him side step down the staircase that brought them from the drop off. Kagome walked in front of him, gingerly guiding his wobbling knees, that cried against each bone.

Upon making it to the frosty field, caked with dew and melting snow, they found the train's smoke stack billowing in the distance. InuYasha took the opportunity to pull Kagome closer, holding her firmly against his side. "You think we have enough money to do this?" He asked, sending her a daring glance.

The gleaming sun pricked at the darker sooty flecks in her eyes as she stared back, "You know that it doesn't matter if we do or not. If we have enough for one ticket, I'm sending you and I'll sit out back. You-"

"Don't, Kagome." InuYasha snapped, leaning down to grab her chin. "Look at me, don't look down at your damn shoes, or the ground." He scolded, making her bring those eyes back to his.

"What is it?" She pouted slightly, brows furrowed in concern.

The wind kicked at the man's bangs as he tried to focus on her small voice over the rumble of the train. "Just calm down, okay? It's not like we haven't done this before." He chuckled, finding the girl's cheeks stained with color.

Kagome merely nodded and gripped to his hand, holding in place as she stood on her toes. She placed a soft kiss on his chin, the highest spot she could reach and released him. Over the embankment, Koga sat sullen, staring at the back of the man's head. He rested against the dying oak tree, perched upon a piece of luggage.

Kagome was the first woman to turn him down, and it made his stomach ache just to see _that_ man with her. He was being granted permission to touch her, to share a bed, and not try to enjoy himself? "Stupid bastard," Koga grumbled, pressing his wool coat down.

He could have thought of a million reasons to get out of this shitty town, but maybe making that girl change her mind and come give him beautiful daughters, or strong sons, made him feel like it was reason enough.

Yet, as the polished train pulled up to the newly formed collective of awaiting passengers, he loomed over the hill until he saw Kagome and that cretin exchange a few words and surprised glances as they opened their envelopes.

The girl stook in utter shock as she pulled out stack of paper notes. InuYasha was calmly finishing a cigarette, a bit taken-a-back by the sum of money that had been given to them. "What are we going to do with all of this?" He asked, picking through the envelope.

Kagome shook her head, trying not to let tears bleed down her cheeks. "Well, we can eat." She exclaimed, waiting for the elderly women to step off the train. The conductor held the door open, bowing as several pretegious looking men followed after. One man caught Kagome's eye as she waited in line near the heat radiating from the locomotive.

He was tall, well dressed and smelled like heavy cologne. Most men didn't have long hair, anymore, not since the shogun had died off. In comparision, InuYasha's hair was short as it dangled around the businessman's waist, finely braided in white thread. Her attention was taken back to the train when the conductor asked where they were going.

InuYasha put a reassuring hand on Kagome's back as she spoke of the destination, leaving their envelopes a little lighter. Koga followed a little behind, overhearing the information he wanted to know and watched as she helped InuYasha as he stumbled onto the high platform. Once inside the steel car, she lead him down a thin cooridoor of seats until she found a smoking car.

It was the first time she had ever been on a train and her hands pressed against the condensation on the windows. Everything looked so surreal from the inside, and the seats were leather and smelled clean like pine. The man shifted in his seat uncomfortably as he took in all of the lighting and freshly polished wood. He tapped his fingers and eventually brought them to his mouth, chewing on his cuticles.

Knowing Kagome, she was about to come unglued and stop his nasty habit. When she didn't, he frowned at her as she jumped as the car began to clank and pull. Her heart was beating so fast, she could barely comprehend anything else.

The countryside began to blur in white arches and hills, sunken turf and river banks blanched with icy covers. The trees seemed to blend in as gray flurries until they bled black the deeper they ventured into the woodsy areas.

She was truly thankful to be inside, enjoying such a marvelous view. Most of the other passengers looked on at her wonder and resumed their time spent with books or papers. InuYasha, on the other hand, leaned against her, pointing at various buildings and old battle grounds.

He turned out to be extremely knowledgeable in folklore, and local histories. It kept her entertained for the hours they spent trapped in the car together. At one point, the man opted to sleep off a little of stress, leaving her to play with the ends of his hair, and watch the world a little longer.

The idea of leaving him alone again made her heart heavy, and she let out a small sigh. He looked youthful when he slept, and the worrysome lines that drew outlines around his eyes and the corners of his mouth, had absolved.

Part of her wondered what his wife was like, and if she was as good to him as he deserved. She felt guilty for wanting to know who's body had fit in these clothes, and the way that he spoke of her, he loved her dearly and still did. Tenderly, Kagome brushed back his bangs just to admire him.

She didn't realize that Koga was watching her from a few seats back. He had made sure to avoid being seen, and didn't want her to think he was up to no good. His dark eyes stayed focused on her every move, and envied every time she touched her companion. The entire ride, he had thought of what he would say to her when they arrived in Tokyo.

The ride was almost over, and there was little time for him to prepare. He wasn't sure what it was about her that him so riled up, but he could barely stand it. He spent a good portion of his savings to take this trip and he sure as hell wasn't leaving empty handed.

Yet, as the last leg of the journey rolled by and they served a few beverages, Kagome saw the highrises and beaming lights call her from the crook in her window. She pulled, a now awake, InuYasha into her seat with her and sat on his lap as she pointed out all of the buildings. And, if he had paid any attention to it, was a lie. He simply bathed in this moment of her excitement as they dismounted the train and onto a large wooden platform, filled to the brim with people dressed in varying attire.

He held onto her for dear life as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Neither of them had been in Tokyo for years, and it had changed so drastically it was almost unrecognizable. "So, where do we go?" He asked her, feeling her nails dig into his cuffs.

Kagome shook her head, standing on the very edge, overlooking a garden and brick monument. "I-I didn't even think about how to get there. I know it's not far from the station, from what Obaba told me." She breathed, looking up at him with a mixture of remorse and fright.

InuYasha took in a deep, smog filled breath and grabbed her hand tightly. "Well, I promise I won't lose you in this mess. I haven't seen this many people in a long time." He was overwhelmed and completely lost.

A young woman behind him poked his back with her tiny finger and slid past him with a smile. Her parents eyed him for a moment before brushing past him, facades clearly made as wealthy aristocrats that still remained thriving in the arms of this bustling city.

Before long, Kagome shook her head and forced herself to take that first step onto the paved sidewalk. InuYasha followed her and together they swam through the sea of people. If he did lose her, her coat would be an easy way to find her. No one else had on anything that bright in this nearly reconstructed city.

The bombing in near the Sumida reflected harshly in the city, and well into the slums and impoverished streets that were well hidden by the red-light district in Shinjuku. Had it been night, the prostitutes and enterainers surely would have been sucking in men like the waves in Tsukiji capsized wayward vessals.

InuYasha held the girl close as she read the towering signs in wonder. The orbed street lamps flourished in a fanned slump, much like the shape she created with her outstretched hand. The man watched her poise even through her nervousness and held his breath for the streets to thin near what appeared to be a theater.

It was something he hadn't seen in years, and these lights, even in the daylight, screamed for his attention, but was lost somewhere in the rolling thoughts tumbling in his mind. He chewed at his lip as he saw a small boy, wearing thin layers of what was once a nice pair of hakama and haori. His hair was greasy, and he looked nearly starved. Kagome had seen him, as well, leaving a bitter tenderness growing in the pit of her heart.

One look at InuYasha and obliged her by stopping near the dark headed boy. His little eyes were swollen from tears and his hands clung to an old handmade doll. The poor thing was sitting on his small wagon, selling newspapers and mints to anyone who might notice.

When InuYasha knelt down, Kagome reached into her pocket and pulled out the envelope. All of that money that was just given to her didn't mean anything, and she grabbed a blind amount and handed it to her companion. He eyed her oddly as he spoke to the tiny child, "How much are your newspapers?"

"What do you have?" He said quietly, barely audible above the squeal of the train and ringing bicycle bells.

InuYasha looked to Kagome and then back at his hand, and licked his thumb as he counted out the portion she gave him. "I have 5, 000 Yen." He said with a rasp, a moment later he turned and coughed hoarsely as the boy's eyes lit up with some sort of surprise.

"Where's your family, honey?" Kagome asked, picking up a newspaper from his stack.

"My mother is at home sick, and my daddy died in the war." He said proudly. "I'm taking care of her and being the man Papa said I should have been."

"Well, can you take this?" InuYasha cleared his throat, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. The last thing he needed was this runt catching ill because of him.

The boy ruffled his hair and playfully rubbed at the freckles on his cheeks, which were lit up like the bakery sign overhead. "That's an awful lot, I don't want to ta-"

"Take it," Kagome urged, "Think of it as a gift for you and your Mama that you don't have to worry for a while." Her eyes caught his for a brief moment and tears skimmed at the corners. He was so small, delicate and standing in this cold weather for a few meager pieces of change.

Surely, as she was about give him the coat off her back, InuYasha reached in his bag and pulled out his haori and handed it to him along with the money. "Look kid, take this and wear it over your clothes until you can go buy you a real coat. You should just go home for the day, I don't think anyone else is gonna drop a stack of money in your lap." He teased, patting him on the back as he slowly raised back up.

The little boy relished in the fabric and wore the shirt like a dress as he folded up his earnings and put them in his satchel. Kagome tucked it into his hakama the best she could as to help keep him from stumbling on it and getting hurt. Reaching out, she pulled him into her arms and held him for a moment, "Make your Mama feel better and get you something to eat, okay? I'm going to come back through here and if I see you still standing in the cold, I'm going to really upset."

"Thank you, ma'am." He peeped, nuzzling his nose into her collar before she stood up. He waisted no time in thanking InuYasha and grabbing the handle on his cart before darting off down the alley way.

The man watched him as he rounded the corner, sticking his hands firmly into his pockets. Kagome brushed off her hands and smiled as she took his arm, "I feel better about having all of that paper given to me." She said.

"You need that paper to live."

"What good is having something that you'll never really use, especially if you don't want anything. Needing is different, you can need and find a way to have those things, but wanting is something selfish and it's not a bad thing, I just have never wanted anything material." Kagome shrugged as they rounded a corner street. A sign for a hospital stood taut against the murky colored buildings and pointed to the East.

InuYasha was still hung up on what she had said, and how strange it was that she was so selfless. It made him feel terrible for all of the times he had wanted and received without giving something in return. He supposed that was part of his reclusive tendency. How was it that this woman had gotten under his skin in a matter of days?

He followed her endlessly and never questioned as to why he was so compelled. Like now, Kagome was leading him like a dog through the bowels of a city neither of them knew, and he was dumb enough to let her lead this mellefulous dance.

He wondered what those eyes of hers truly saw, when he saw a sadden city corrupted by the last shred of wealth and propriety. There was so much change and culture that he had no idea existed, and she kept going like it was never there to begin with. Part of him wished she would give into these motions and cease breezing through her life, but what did he know? He was the hermit, the beast that lived in the forest...

This concrete wasteland had become a breath of fresh air, and a fresh shower of hope in the bottom of his heart. How long he had with her, he didn't know, but he was sure he was going to stick with her as long as their tether remained tied.

Kagome, herself, hadn't given their affection much thought. It was what it was and it was as natural as the very air pulsing oxygen into her lungs. She stared at the road signs and chipped paint on the buildings, staring at well dressed geisha as they lined the damp streets with their parasols and pelted shawls, but she was praying that this journey wouldn't end.

Ending meant failing, and failure was not an option.

No matter how long they roamed these streets, she would be there for him and push him through his worrysome facades until he built a new one he liked. But, as it were, the approach to a graying garden and cascading white pillared walls indicated that they needed to venture inside.

The girl stopped, staring at the reflective windows that rose into the sky and gripped to the man's warm shirt, hoping that he could prepare her for what she saw beyond those deceptive doors. InuYasha laced an arm over her shoulders and stared with her in silence as people ushered in and out, wearing white to match the building.

She wasn't even sure if this was the right hospital, but it was the one closest to the train station. The map in her pocket had been pointing her here all along and she hoped that her mother lay in one of those beds.

Closing her eyes, she readied herself. "Now or never, InuYasha." He exhaled, leading the way into the musty establishment. When the doors parted, there was the astringent stench of clohrine and bleach premeating over the teal tile and peachy counters.

InuYasha was tense, ill at the sight of people being carted off to partitions and dying all around him. He wasn't shellshocked, but it was disheartening and overwhelmingly familiar to seeing bodies dropping all around him.

Instead of running away, he braced himself and walked up to the counter and looked back Kagome as she fumbled with her hands, in that nervous way that she did. He recalled her last name and smiled down at the nurse filing paperwork.

"Higurashi..." He muttered, snapping his fingers as she began to panic. She seemed so fragile in this environment, and he admitted to fairing better than she did.

"Ume," Kagome said in a whisper.

"Higurashi Ume?" InuYasha asked, seeing the nurse's face fall as she looked down at her freshly filed cabinet.

"Are you the next of kin?" The middle aged woman asked, placing a pen in her hair as she began to dig.

"I am." She responded weakly. "I'm her daughter."

Kagome eventually slid up to the counter when a few emergency workers pulled in a make-shift dolley with an elderly man slumped on his back. The hospital was far to over crowded and she could only imagine what it was like watching this kind of suffering day in and day out.

At some point, she began chewing on her knuckles, waiting for what seemed like forever before the nurse pulled out a file. Flipping it open, she found her wrinkled face wilting as she read the words scribbled on the paper.

InuYasha lolled his head back and knew the impending reponse. When the nurse told her that her mother had passed two days earlier, Kagome dissolved and collapsed onto the floor. She held her head in her hands as she let every shroud of emotion, all of which she had held back, erupt into this vicious cry that could no longer be held.

The nurse shook her head and apologized for her loss and handed InuYasha a form to fill out and sign. It was business, wasn't it? Shaking his head, he slumped down beside her and patted her knee. "Kagome..." He breathed, pulling her head against his chest as he stroked her cheek.

The tears were warm against his fingers and he stifled when she attempted to say his name. It was ragged and torn, like all of the hope she held upon her arrival. Everything she had done had been in vain and to what result was it that had given her such a futile desire?

Her mother was the last thing she had. Her brother was going to be adopted by a wealthy family from Kyoto, and she had nothing. Not a thing. When she grieved, she grieved alone and never in the company of others. This was strange, and welcomed as she bristled beneath his long arms and became drowsy from her upset.

"You need to get out of here for a minute?" InuYasha whispered into her ear, receiving a nod as he gripped the counter to stand up, coughing roughly into his shoulder.

He helped her up and grabbed a pen from the cup and lead the girl back into the cool air, soothing the heat welling beneath her pores. He wished he could take that pain away from her and refill it with some of the happiness he saw earlier in the day. Yet, as he watched her straighten up, he realized that she knew that it was a longshot that she would still have been alive.

The paper in his hand said that she had died of cancer, and it was no surprise that Kagome had been so adament about traveling hundreds of miles, even if on foot. It made sense. Everything she did made sense, now. The walk around the building was somber, as the young woman composed herself.

"Well, I'm sorry I dragged you from your home to see me in shambles and knowing that my mother passed." Kagome sniveled onto the sleeve of her hood.

InuYasha grimaced and sat her down on a wooden bench that faced the downtown districts. He reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette and just let her cry, talk, whatever she needed to feel better. "When my mother died, I wasn't there. I was still fighting in the war. I couldn't leave and she knew that I lvoed her, and still do. Your mother knew that you did, and there's nothing that can change that. People don't always have the fortunate hand when it comes to timing."

Kagome wanted to force a smile and leaned against him, feeling his mouth peck against hers. "I know I'm not the only one who's lost something special, and I won't be the last. I don't know what to tell my brother, if I see him before he's sent to Kyoto." She said vacantly.

"You can either protect him from the inevitable, or tell him the truth, or say nothing."

"It's not that simple, is it? To lie, omit the truth for something that's well known?"

"It's like you said, 'wanting is selfish'..." InuYasha said, blowing his smoke into the air. "I guess the same could go for feeling like you need to hide something. It's almost like it's a want, right? You want to hide from the reality of this, and you can't. You can try, but it's useless. If you can accept it, you'll eventually be able to forgive yourself, or end up a hermit like me."

Kagome furrowed her brows and moved his bangs away from his discolored eyes. "How could you have ever been tucked away for so long? I wish that I had known you before. I wish that they had known you."

InuYasha's body stiffened slightly under her scrutiny. He was spellbound by the nacreous stare in which she gave him. "How is it that you think so much of me? I'm nothing special, Kagome. I just found you. It's not like I ran after you and whisked you away like in those films my mother watched."

"I don't know. I trust you. I trusted you then and I'm glad I did. I'd be alone right now with nothing to value, but I have you and that's all I need." Kagome said, voice bleeding with emotion as she took the clipboard.

InuYasha watched her scribble down information and hand it to him as she held herself. With a sigh, he let her be and stumbled back inside to give the nurse the clipboard. When he did, he waited for few minutes before the woman handed him a white plastic bag filled with Ume's belongings and directions to the creamatory. He felt like dying when he realized he was going to have to take her to pick up her mother's ashes.

Staring at her through the window, as she watched people wheel in and wheel out, he let what she had said sink in. It was the least he could do for her, and wore a half hearted grin and escorted her away.

If they had realized that a pair of roaming eyes watched them from the opposite side of the building, he would have been quick in taking her somewhere safe. For, Koga, even in his derranged state, felt pity for her and wished that he could do the same.

He waited patiently for them to be a safe distance away before he moved from his spot. Asking the little boy where they had gone had been no problem, since he gave him a bowl of rice and a bun from the bakery.

The rest of the day, he would merely wait it out and see where the wind would take him. There was one thing for certain, and that was that that woman was certainly tangible. If he could catch her in a moment of weakness, he would slip into her heart and save her from this dire situation and be the hero that she thought InuYasha was.


	4. Next to Her

**AN;** SO. There's a lot going on in this chapter and I think I'm going to scrap my original plan to make this five chapters. It definitely won't be more than ten.

Just as fair warning, this chapter is full of sadness. I feel like you are all going to hate me a lot, but this is a period piece, so I'm trying to be as accurate as possible. I do hope that you enjoy it. This chapter was brewing in the back of my mind all day and it turned out a lot different than I intended, but I love it.

Sammixoxo; Thank you! I appreciate the review! I'm glad you enjoy the relationship. I didn't want them jumping head first, but there's still that curiosity between them that's so magical. I'm such a fangirl. Haha.

k.a.a-inu; Koga is a big bad wolf (demon or not lol). I absolutely love him. He's definitely one of my favorites. I always felt terrible for him and Hojo. Poor guys. And, without reviews and this enthusiasm, I wouldn't have nearly enough motivation to write for myself. I want to be a better author for you guys and do my best. You guys really don't know how much I appreciate all of your feedback. I don't get the volume that a lot other authors get, but I have the most amazing reviewers I could ask for. :)

ninjamidori; I've got baskets more. Haha. And, yeah, Koga is a total creeper. I wouldn't let him near my heart sparkles right now.

Saria Forest14; Thank you! More emotional chapters happen when I'm feeling down. I felt bad doing that to Kagome's mother, but I felt like I had to. Kagome's going through some changes and realizations and she needs to be a bit unstable. :( And thank you so much, I'm always happy that you enjoy what I write for you guys!

Warm-Amber92; I know how I'm going to end this story and I don't think anyone is really going to like Koga, which I feel really really bad about, but he's gotta blow some houses down on the way. God, I love InuYasha and Kagome... Any time he can be written in a sweet and loving manner, I just melt. I hope you like this chapter, even though is wrought with sadness.

Enjoy!

The day bled into dusk, leaving behind Ume's ashes guarded by the militants of a foreign country as they submerged into the bay of Tsukiji. It was the place Kagome's parents had met, fallen in love, and ran away to the safety of nowhere.

Seeing the leveled city and landscape, corroded by the fires and radiating bombs, made Kagome wish for the time before the war, before the earth had encompassed the evils and wants of man's design.

InuYasha told her stories about fighting for the Imperial Army and selling himself short in his position of command. It took her mind off of the cumbersome weight of her mother's death, at least while he heard the bellow of his throaty voice.

The prospect of holding his hand, or standing what was thought to be too close, was sent out the window as a woman of standing called her in kin to a _pan pan_ girl. Moga or not, being held in a time of need by the opposite sex was still taboo, even with the garnishment of soldiers and their newly arrived wives spreading kisses across their lover's faces.

So much had changed since the surrender, and Kagome could do nothing but stare down the old Shibuya district called Shimbashi. All of the red lights loomed in the husky breath of the dark. The streets were filled with Geisha and what resembled them, disguised as a lotus, but really just a weed.

InuYasha kept his eyes level, having had his share of _comfort women_ during his stint in the army. It was saddening as he stood beside this woman as they shared their favorite stories of their mothers, and the way the held onto those simple moments of their childhood. There was so much beauty in the way she moved. It was always graceful - _free -_ even in her mourning.

The parts of him that were visceral and masculine read the soft pillars of light on her face, and the distant longing in her eyes as something far more wanting than they were. He was a weak man for thinking such a thing of this broken bird, and wanted to mend her until she could fly off and out of his life.

Then again, he didn't know if he would want to. There was that word, _want._ Shaking his head, he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose as he proclaimed his exhaustion. Kagome eyed him briefly before she let out a sigh and relented to finding a place to sleep. Forgetting about this day would be more of a blessing if she could take awake the soreness in her muscles and battered face.

A few stragling men from Douglas' battalion still roamed the streets, ushering in individuals to shelters and setting up their dinner stations to deliver rations. Kagome was absorbed in all of the people still wearing old clothes, torn and nothing more than rags. What was lost to them was a world away from what she knew and to have lost her mother naturally was a peace of heavenly grace.

She didn't know the way they suffered. To say she was cursed was harsh and she let her money take her where she needed to go. Unlike the ones waiting for blankets and a measly bowl of rice. InuYasha was desensitized to the aftermath. Hell, he had been part of all of the grand scheme and feeling guilt was more human that he felt than he deserved.

If Kagome knew half of what he had done, she would have disappeared. Yet, as he held the door open to a cheap ryokan, nestled in the very end of Shimbashi, he could have forgotten about it all.

The look she gave him as they entered the darkly lit inn was wanton, filled with an almagamation of desires that she, herself, had never felt. No matter how fleeting, it was there and stuffed back down as a middle aged woman pursed her lips as she smoked a cigarette from her holder.

"Are you married?" Were the first words that leaked from her mouth, and her eyes narrowed in judgement.

Kagome assumed that she was of old blood and refused to accept the changing in the country. Her pressed jade and white kimono was in perfect condition, still bright as the day it was made. "No." She said softly, reaching in her pocket for her envelope.

InuYasha winced and turned to cough into his hands, as the keeper rolled her dark eyes and looked down at her registery.

"I have no more split rooms. I don't allow promiscuity in my establishment, and I expect since you're being young and all, that you may have a problem keeping to yourself." She said smoothily.

Kagome's expression fell as she looked at the paper notes in her hand. "How much for two rooms?" She asked glumly, feeling worse than she had earlier. There was no sense in arguing with this woman, it seemed.

The man suppressed another wave of coughing, and smiled crookedly at the woman. It was charming the way he worked, but it made Kagome feel insignificant that she couldn't be the person it was directed at - business or not.

"If you can just give a room to this lady here, I'll be on my way. I just wanted to make sure that she was safe. See," He said, licking his lips as he leaned over the counter. His eyes found a business card laying next to her ashtray, "Kagura-san? This girl lost her mother today, and I would appreciate it if you didn't make her feel like some of the girls that surely stay here."

Kagome held her breath as she watched this Kagura woman's tight facade sour. She pursed her painted lips and stamped her cigarette out without saying so much as a word. Reaching her hand out, she waved her fingers for a small stack of Yen and nudged her head. "This way girl."

InuYasha made sure the woman wasn't looking when he placed a kiss atop Kagome's crown. Her eyes shimmered with emotion as he directed her to follow. When she did, she barely heard a word that Kagura said as InuYasha turned to walk back out the wooden door.

Panic surfaced as the door slid open to reveal the tatami room, nearly bare and cold. Kagome was handed a thin yukata and a towel for the bath. Kagura gave her some nonsense before she left her alone, slamming the door shut to the dismay of her other customers.

Once inside, Kagome scurried to the window. Parting it, she found InuYasha leaning against a light pole not too far away. What yearning she held to have him close... Even had this distance, it was too much to bear. Rubbing her eyes, she let the cool breeze lap at her skin and whisper into her hair.

Beneath that rosy light, InuYasha's skin gleamed and his hair covered the length of his back. He was watching the women of the district sell themselves to anyone who would buy, and the entertainers sweep in their wealthy patrons. It was a mishmash of the past and the future, with him standing ever present.

When he looked over his shoulder at her, the girl felt that pang in her chest radiated into her bones. He sucked the breath right out of her. Closing her eyes, she sank back down and rested on the hard floor. There were so many thing that tried her mind for dominance. There was her family, or what was left, her life as a whole, and _him_.

It had been three nights.

Three nights since she had been starving, fearful of growling beasts, and now she was lost in whatever kindred spirit she had found roaming. And, like a ghost, he crept to her window and sat with his back pressed against the building, absorbing the moisture from the damp ground.

Kagome nearly jumped when he said her name, and she sighed with her hand gripping to her chest. "Why did you do that?"

"You needed a place to sleep. I can go to the shelter, you know?" InuYasha said, reaching into his bag for a piece of pickled boar. "I'm used to doing these things."

"It doesn't matter. You have no business putting me before yourself, especially in your condition."

"You're basically ignoring the purpose of you having a room, aren't you?"

Kagome pouted and raised up to wrap her hands around the edge of the window. InuYasha just smirked at her, looking up from where he rested. "Please tell me that you'll come back for me and not leave me alone. I don't want to have to hunt you down. I'm sure it won't be that hard, but I wouldn't enjoy it."

"You like having me around, I take it." The man teased, grunting as he coughed jagged.

The girl brushed her hair over her ear, and leaned down. Her wrist pressed against his forehead and felt the fever he had hidden. "Get in here." She demanded.

InuYasha pushed her hand away incredulously. "I'm fine, Red."

"Quit calling me that."

"Stop babying me. I'm a grown man, Kagome. It's just a cold. I get them all the time." He shrugged.

Kagome felt anger prickle at her skin. She reached up and shut the window, slumping back down against the wall, nearly in tears. It was selfish that she wanted him in there for her, and not only for his well being.

Outside, a few onlookers whispered to one another as they watched the leggy man flail his arms in defeat. Kagome was about to move when she heard the window slide open. InuYasha stood with his palms holding up the panes, "Come here." He said sternly, eyes boring holes into her.

"Why should I?" Kagome retorted weakly, softening her expression as she gravitated towards him. Her hands wound around the bottom of the window and raised it. Before she had a chance to move, the warmth of his mouth grasped to hers.

She exhaled into him as he wrapped a hand around the back of her head, winding his fingers into her hair. He needed her closeness. He craved it. It was a part of being a man. Loneliness had submerged him, and this was his attempt to resurface and breathe.

Kagome's hands were slipping with the force of his body searching for hers. She'd let go of the window, but he'd caught it with his free hand, trembling from the urgency in his blood. The bittersweetness of the silence was short lived as Kagura rapped her knuckles against the door.

InuYasha ducked beneath the window, leaving Kagome to dilute the drugged haze that swarmed around her. It was all she could do to get the window closed before the woman came in holding a tray of tea and rice.

"It's dinner time, I know it's not much, but this was the best I could do with rations." Kagura cooed, sitting it down on the mat. "I'll fetch it in the morning when you have your breakfast." She sighed, leaving as swiftly as she came.

Once Kagome's heart slowed, she reopened the window and helped InuYasha climb inside. Her fingers absently brushed her against her own lips as she wrapped him up in a blanket. Quickly, she pulled the string to the light, leaving blackness to fall upon them.

"I'm sorry." InuYasha rasped, searching through the faint light from the street lamps. "I shouldn't have done that."

Kagome furrowed her brows and handed him her porcelain bowl of rice. "Here, don't worry about that." She smiled, betraying the inner workings of her body. "Get undressed and hand me your clothes."

The man gaped at her, unsure of how to have taken such a request. No one, not even his wife, had ever told him to do such a thing.

The girl turned her head and laughed quietly. "No," She gestured, "I want to fold them and keep them nice for tomorrow. I won't look."

"It's freezing in here, Kagome." InuYasha glowered, "Besides-"

"Just hand them to me."

Mumbling under his breath, InuYasha bequeathed to her his shirt and suspenders, leaving him shivering at the fresh cold. He ran his hands up and down his long arms, leaving Kagome's eyes to wander to his scarred skin. She could barely see the taut markings left by his old injuries, but they were still there as a reminder of what was.

After the man finished eating, saving her a portion, he drank some tea and felt weary as his fever spiked. Kagome tended to him, blanketed him and giving him each comfort from the coat she wore. He felt like fire and her heart bled as she shimmied beside him on the bed-roll.

Instinctively, she pulled his head against her chest and began rolling her fingers through his hair. As he fell in between realms, he nuzzled into her hands, accepting the warmth she provided. His joints throbbed and his head buzzed with static.

Kagome felt it was the least she could do after all he had done for her. Her mother would have liked him, she decided. At least, she hoped that Ume would have. Sota would have adored him and his war stories. The girl shed a hesitant smile.

What would her life had been like if she had married that Hojo boy? Or what would her father have said about her sneaking away from the orphanage? Her mother would have been upset with her, but now that they were together again, it made sense that Kagome should have been at peace. Soichiro and Ume were bound to the harbor.

A few tears ran down the girl's cheeks as thought of her family, and reveled in InuYasha as he lay sleeping. The rise and fall of her chest sent him on a waving journey. These moments of serenity in such a ravaged country signified hope to her.

Returning to a world beyond these rooms and him was a reality that she didn't want to accept. For now, she merely lay her head down and listened to the whir of noise from outside and the sweet shamisen and songs of the maiko.

Most people still about did the same, and Koga was no different. He drank sake and chided with the reformed women of the area, hoping for guidance in his efforts to seduce Kagome. When he'd found InuYasha standing outside the ryokan, he knew that she wasn't far. He'd taken the liberity in getting his shoes shined and a fresh haircut, like most proper young men had now.

The women in the teahouse seemed to enjoy it and fawned over his dark blue eyes like they were made of diamonds. He couldn't help but see through their facades and emptiness in their eyes. The men around him laugh jovially and wished their wives were as beautiful.

"Not everyone can be as beautiful as Okada Mariko!" An old man exclaimed, "I think this one is pretty close!" He said gesturing to a younger geisha.

Koga smirked, staring down his sake cup with a stagnant taste in his mouth. "I think the most beautiful woman on this earth is the one you can't have." He said, raising his eyes to meet the amused gazes of the women and men alike.

One of the geisha knelt down beside him, grabbing his palm. Flipping it open, she ran her finger across the lines and gasped. "You better be careful."

"What's that supposed to me?" He asked curiously, frowning.

She batted her eyes and showed him the river of lines bleeding into one deep crevice. "This." She whispered, "This is a great ocean that you have to cross. Over here," The girl indicated where his journey started, "you are safe and sound, and over here, where the ocean is deepest, is where you will be lost. There is no end to the sea."

Koga rolled his eyes as he pressed out the kinks in his palms. "I don't think you know what you're talking about, honey." He teased, receiving a look of disappointment.

"Wolves don't live in the sea." The woman said in response, raising to move near the other women to play the koto. "Foreign territory is never good for someone that doesn't know the terrain."

For a moment, the young man watched them play as he let her words sink in. Out the window he could see the curvature of the rooftop where Kagome resided. His planning was taking longer than he expected, but she had to be alone some time. Letting his eyes roll over the geisha once more, he reluctantly reached into his pocket and found the mother of the house.

Such hard times called for lowered standards, and he wanted to have an evening alone with this peculiar woman. If she had so much insite on forlorn and unrequited love, she must have been there herself. It was with much ado that the elderly woman argued over price, and won victoriously.

Koga could barely see straight, or walk in a straight line as the girl guided him across the street to Kagura's ryokan. It was much to his chagrin that he managed to make it inside. The missus was very displeased to see one of Urasuei's girl's making their debut as a prostitute, since there was no such fortune for every girl to have a _danna_.

"Kagura-sama, do you have a room avalaible?" The girl asked sweetly, receiving a frigid glare.

Her eyes moved over Koga a few times and back to the geisha. "Kanna, darling, you know how I feel about this business." She said in a deplorable tone, waving her hand up and down the strapping young man's form.

He cleared his throat and bowed a little in embarrassment. "I can always go elsewhere."

Kanna blanched at his nonsense and batted her eyes at the woman. Glowering, Kagura lit a cigarette and shuddered. "Fine. I want a portion of your earnings. I declined a more deserving couple earlier this evening, and I'm very upset about the strays coming in because they don't have a pack." She seethed flamboyantly, as she glided around the counter.

Koga sighed in relief as Kanna trekked slowly behind the woman. He inspected the dimly lit cooridoor, wondering which room Kagome was in. It was strange to be in such an establishment for this purpose, but he was doing what he had to.

The alcohol made the desire that much stronger, and if nothing else, he could pretend that this painted woman was really the object of his affection. She probably wouldn't mind, he thought darkly as Kagura lead them to a room at the end of the hall.

Before she left, she paused and stared at the man, grabbing him by the collar. "So help me, if there is a mess that _I _have to attend to, I will throw you to the dogs. My morals are above this."

When she let go, Koga glared at her through glassy eyes. Kanna merely slid the door closed and sat down on a cushion near the corner of the room. She never appeared nervous, or upset as the man slowly undressed himself.

"Is the woman you're looking for a _tennyo_?" She asked quietly, playing with the ends of her sleeves. The lamp light made her look childishly young and Koga closed his eyes as he sank down on the roll.

His eyes stared vacantly to the door, refusing to look at the girl's curious face. "She could be. I saw her once and I fell in love."

"Those are the most dastardly. She belongs to another man?"

"If you could even call the old bastard that." Koga retorted.

"I saw the most beautiful woman on my way to my ochaya." Kanna said, dreamily recalling the girl walking down the street. "She was wearing this red drape and looked like she'd been crying, but was just so elegant. I had to be taught that."

Koga let out a gruff sigh and laid his hand across his eyes. "That was _her_." He responded, aching to the core for her. He closed his eyes and imagined those puffy lips parting, saying his name as she wrapped her legs around him... It would have been rapturous.

His body stirred and Kanna blushed beneath her layers of paint. "That man she was with is ill. I could see it in his eyes. I wouldn't worry too much. It won't be long before it takes him." She smiled weakly, so hopelessly upset for the woman a few doors down.

The man glanced back at the girl and waved his arms for her to come closer. When she did, he pulled and unraveled the cloaks around her small frame. If he was to forget about Kagome for a moment, he would enjoy his conquest. It was a small price to pay for clarity, but he would still be ravenous for her.

Kanna, this poor soul, was devoured by him over and over until she could no longer resemble the girl she was before. She had been called _her _name and whispered sweet words, leaving her foul as Koga's hands continued to run over her body.

Emptiness, that was the feeling, or lack there of. Tsuya-san had told her it would be like this, but she never dreamt that it would be so meaningless. She envied Kagome. She envied that girl smiling through her moments of sadness as her lover, or so she assumed, walked so tall beside her.

Closing her eyes, she gasped at the hand climbing up her back. She was so lucky to have the ability to feel and be free from this life. Escaping proverty was a gift and to be handled like an object instead of a woman was murderous.

Yet, Kanna never let Koga see the misfortune creasing the lines in her heart. She merely rolled through the tide as his mouth clipped hers. She didn't know that Kagome was laying awake, listening to the faint mewls and pants.

It had been all Kagome could do to ignore them. She didn't want to hear them. It defeaned her when she heard her name and it made her wonder if it had been real. InuYasha stirred and coughed and wheezed.

If she had been a stronger person she would have torn apart his cigarettes and made him stop killing himself, but it was his choice. He probably needed them, she justified sadly, watching his features contort into miserable shapes.

Sighing, Kagome rolled over to her side, letting InuYasha's head rest on her arm. She dared touch the soft skin clinging to his sternum and relished in the cool that had washed over him. She could feel his chest tighten before he coughed and she aptly covered his mouth to muffle it.

The last thing she wanted was for Kagura to hear and kick them out on the street. Pulling back her hand, she brought it up to the illumination leaking in through the window. Blinking, she stared with wide eyes and a slack jaw at the blood pooled in her palm.

Without hesitation, she tilted InuYasha's head to her, cradling him as she inspected his parted mouth. Blood smeared across the side of his mouth and covered his cheek from her hand.

"InuYasha..." Kagome breathed, feeling a wrenching in her heart. "Please don't tell me..." She whispered, tears burning her lashes with their fiery embrace.

The man jerked as he coughed again. It all made sense. The fever, the pain, the cough, the blood...

Laying her head on his chest, she heaved a sob and felt his hand rest against the back of her had as he wiped his mouth clean. "Kagome," He licked his dry lips, bringing nose to touch hers. He couldn't bring himself to look at her and merely placed the faintest of kisses on her lips. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright."

The girl shook her head against him. "I've already lost everything. Why do you have to be sick?" She pleaded quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around his frame.

InuYasha swallowed and merely let her cry. "I thought you knew." He said tenderly. "Everyone else could tell. You were the first person that got close enough to me that I didn't think I had to."

Kagome wondered how everyone was so attuned to his illness. Had she been so blinded by her affection that she downplayed his symptoms? Had he not wanted to worry her? Of course not, she chastised herself as she inhaled the sweet earthy smell on his skin.

InuYasha was afflicted with tuberculosis. He could live, she thought. She could help him get the help he needed. Being frantic was the last thing she needed to be. She needed sleep, clarity... All of the things that in a matter of days had been stripped from her.

The man's hands silence her thoughts as he pulled her on top of him, looking her in the eye with seriousness ladden in his lusterous gaze. "I'm not leaving you." He said, holding her close as he sank beneath her weight. "I will not leave you alone."

In that moment, Kagome pressed her forehead to his, burying her burdens for a day when they would be warranted. A dream can only last so long, and she prayed that this one wouldn't end before it truly began.


	5. Divergence

**AN: **I would like to thank Mumford and Sons for being my soundtrack to the majority of this story, as well as Umekichi. AND WAFF.

k.a.a-inu; That's so sweet of you. :) I hope that you enjoy this chapter a little better than the last. It isn't nearly as depressing, I promise!

ninjamidori; I think you may be happy with how he's doing. ;D

Guest; I honestly don't know if I can.

Warm-Amber92; D: OMG DON'T CRY. I sit here and listen to the most depressing music when I write. I guess it helped with the mood, but still. DON'T CRY!

Saria Forest14; It was an epidemic in Japan, especially after the war. But people did live relatively normal life spans with their condition. InuYasha had extrapulmonary and pulmonary. It can go into a remission with antibiotics even in that time period. So, he has hope! :3

(I literally read about tuberculosis for four days. I started because I have a terrible cough and thanks to Wikipedia and WebMD I think I'm dying.)

I do hope you enjoy this chapter. There's a little something special for you guys in here.

AND

Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, as always. Imma just leave this here...

~Jiru

The nights blurred into days, taking with them the freshness of each wound. Time never stilled as Kagome breached the wall of her feelings. InuYasha had been suffering his affliction for nearly a year, with it fluctuating like rising and falling tide.

Being in the city had caused an influx of sputum and violent change in his symptoms. The woman had taken him to the shattered remains of the hospital, where her mother had been barred behind the empty windows. They'd sent him to the occupation where he was given antibiotics by the medical practioners stationed in cubicles.

The morning after they snuck out of the ryokan, he had been forced to wear a quarantine mask and suffer the stares of those fearful of contracting his illness. Kagome wore one as well, hoping that it would ease the blow to his pride. They hadn't discussed it much further, and left it at the mercy of how his body responded.

She knew that if it _did _go away, it would return and eventually claim him. Life was fragile in that it was meant to serve a distinct purpose from person to person. Whatever his calling was, she was certain that he still had some time to indulge.

Getting him out of his forest was proof enough of that.

Still, as she ran her fingers over clothing hanging so vacantly on wires, she didn't know how well he would manage on his own. A scowl pressed her lips into a tightline beneath the mask, and she sighed. They ventured to Ginza in hopes of seeing what the fuss had been about. There were new shops, filled with Western clothing and odds and ends.

The newer buildings even appeared dilapidated and haunted as she wande+dred through the plastic liners and dresses suspended by their collars. InuYasha had chosen to wait outside, as the day was warmer with the rebirth of sun's reign. He sat hunkered down, wearing a red haori he'd bought second-hand and a pair of black trousers.

Then there was the cane.

Kagome barely realized she was purchasing a cheap pair of clothes as she stared at it from afar. The shop owneer turned his head, trying to see what she was staring at and outwardly frowned. He merely handed off her written receipt and sent her on her way as he watched her pull down her mask to smile as she exited.

The man was illuminated as she knelt to help him up and send him to his feet. There was something genle in the way he accepted her offering and obliged her with a peck on her forehead. "Did you get what you needed?"

Kagome nodded weakly and replaced his mask, "I think that we should go back before the weather decides to keep us here. I think I've had enough of Tokyo for now." She said, slowing her pace for him.

InuYasha gritted his teeth at the inflamation in his knees, praying that there would be absolution for this, at the very least. "Where should we go?" He asked her, following close behind her as they rounded the busy street in trade for the slums and their tattered infastructures.

Kagome closed her eyes and thought for a moment, and let the warmth of the sun lap at her cheeks. "Why don't we go to America?" She said wildly.

InuYasha stopped and stared at her, completely flabbergasted. "You're an idiot if you think that either of us have enough money to get across all that. Besides, don't you think that you need to have a profession before you go?"

"Me?" She asked, furrowing her brows. "I included you, too. We don't have anything here holding us back, do we? What will be any different there?"

The man reached for her shoulder, "Listen to me." He licked his lips, waiting for her attention to stick to him, instead of the bodies eagerly rebuilding their lives. "If that's the dream you have, go chase it. I can't do that. You think that there's nothing holding me here, but you're wrong. I have-"

"Memories." Kagome said in response, eyes fierce with intent. "You have memories. I have memories. Nippon is a shell of what it was, and I want, the one thing I truly _want _is to heal. You could get everything you need there. What opportunity do you have here, other than the woods and the wanderers that you find?"

InuYasha clenched his jaw. He wasn't necessarily angry, but the notion of leaving his life behind on a chance, that's what it was a _chance_. A chance suggested by a woman that had been stunted, differently than he was, but still less than whole.

The idea encompassed so much more than he was willing to lose, and when it was expressed by the tension in his eyes, Kagome backed down and nodded. "Alright. I was just suggesting that it would be a good-"

"There is nothing good in that."

Kagome bristled beneath her coat, and began to pull away from him. "The only good in the world is an infant, who doesn't know what kind of darkness surrounds the hearts of humans."

For a moment, InuYasha steadied himself of his cane. Watching her walk away with her small voice, so wrought with conviction, made his stomach knot. She was something that he didn't understand, yet gravitated towards as she stumbled over the rubble of buildings and dismantled weapons; still shanghaied by dirt and brick.

All of that darkness she spoke of, what was it that she saw in him? He was shrouded by the mystery of it all. Every ginger step she took away from him was like watching her walk out of his life. She became small on the horizon, over a hill that lead back to the newly constructed areas of the city.

The red coat billowed in the wind, as did her ebony locks against her pallid flesh. This uncertainty, it grounded him as though it was his grave. When a cough hit his throat, making it had to breathe, he winced as he watched her expression falter.

That fear returned and she bolted back to where he stood, pulling down her mask as she held him up. Reaching into her pocket, she shook, grabbing the bottle of pills given to them. The glass was nestled by a clean hankerchief that she slid beneath his mask, and blotted off the blood from his mouth.

He wanted to tear away from her. Closing his eyes, he leaned his weight onto his cane and let her guide him to the apex of the hill. "At least let me take you home." Kagome whispered.

InuYasha weakly agreed and crept down the valley that lead them to a station. It was smaller than the one in Shinjuku, and held wooden cars instead of the newer steel models. People stood like toothpicks, crammed in side by side.

She shot him a disparaged glance when he gestured for her to climb up the platform. The conductor stood with a pen and paper in his hands, waiting for her to address him. "Tama?"

The old wrinkly man skimmed his list, "Yes ma'am. Around nightfall."

Kagome looked over her shoulder and watched InuYasha climb the steps. "Two to Tama." She said, picking through her envelope. The man took her exchange as he handed her two notes with their destination. InuYasha took his when Kagome gripped his sleeves in panic. The conductor eyed her precariously as she pointed to the hill.

"I left the bags." She breathed, pushing her hands into her hair. "Do I have enough time?"

The man looked at his watch, while InuYasha shook his head. "Kagome, I'll go get them."

"No, you need to sit down if you can. I'll be right back." She said, pulling her mask down to send him a pacifying grin.

The older man replaced his pocket watch, "She leaves as soon as she's full. There's not much room left, so I'll give you five minutes. That should be plenty of time. It's only on the otherside, yes?"

Kagome nodded, "Thank you, I'll be right back InuYasha. Save a spot for me." She said contently. The man felt odd as he watched her feet thud against the oak steps. The conductor offered to assist him into the car, leaving him susceptable to time.

As he entered the passenger car, people smothered one another with their belongings and brushed against their neighbors shoulders. InuYasha could barely move as he held a wide arm in between himself and the space between the window. He could no longer see the girl as she surmounted the hill, leaving him impatiently waiting for her return.

His heart beat a little faster, and his throat tightened when the smoke stacks chimed their readiness. A few of the other passengers sighed, still polite and accommodating to his need for room.

Still, it was far more harsh than the other train had been and filled to its capacity already, and then some. Sucking in a deep breath, he waited.

Closing his eyes, he heard the howls of the whistles and stiffened. There, in the distance came Kagome, tumbling over herself as she ran as fast as her scrawny legs could take her. He instantly pulled down the window and called her name, to which she responded with a panicked cry. It broke his heart to watch her cradling her bag in her arms, barely able to breathe.

The whistles cried once more as the wind stole his voice, and the wheels churned againt the rickety old track. The girl's eyes brewed with a tempestuous storm, hesitant of the tears that were so freely falling as her feet hit the platform. People on the train watched in near horror as she ran as the locomotive sped up its pace.

InuYasha dropped his belongings on the floor and pushed himself closer to the window, forcing himself up with the strength his arms. "Kagome!" He cried out, holding his arm out the window, not caring how dangerous it was.

One man tried to pull him back inside the car, but he wriggled free, keeping his eyes set on the panting woman trying to keep up. "Wait for me! Wait for me!" The girl screamed over the noise in the station. Pedestrians waving their farewells barely had time to move out of her way as she barreled through the throngs of people to find him.

He hung out from the shoulder, dark hair whipping his face as he tried to see how far away she was. When she found his extended hand, she jumped in her step trying to touch him, grasp the tips of his outstretched white fingers.

She was so close, she breathed, feeling her lungs expunge all of their air in place for suffocation. Daring as it was, the train left her behind, with the man fighting his way to the caboose. Yet, as it zipped away, leaving her slumped upon her knees, a heavy hand fell upon her shoulder.

InuYasha pushed through the people near the window, and saw _him_ gripping her shoulder as she wept. "Kagome!" He whailed darkly, "Find me in Tama! Run, _now_!" He pleaded, voice raped of any semblance of its normal tone. There was no warmth left in him as he fell against his back, bloodying his mask and hands with his furious coughs.

In his ire, his fist beat against the floorboards, tearing the skin from his cold knuckles. Blood splattered across his clothes and cheeks as he gritted his teeth, holding his head in failure. Kagome was at the mercy of another beast, and she didn't even realize it.

Licking his lips, his body felt weak and woozy as his eyes lolled in the back of his head. There, he was left limp and vacant as he tried to retain at least some alertness.

In his mind, the last image that scrolled across his vision was the look of victory across that bastard's face. He had followed her there and waited in the darkness for his opportunity to capture her in her stillness.

For, as the girl realized the softness of a hand pressed against her taut shoulder, she raied her eyes to see Koga's frowning face. That one instance of sympathy made her leap to her feet and wrap her arms around him. She sobbed uncontrollably, letting herself become one with the fabric she drenched.

His large hand sank against her back and held her close to him. As he stared at the vanishing cars of the train, he smirked triumphantly. The sea didn't seem as deep now that he had accomplished at least one leg of the journey. "I can't believe I found you here! I'm so glad I did, otherwise you would have been all alone."

The woman's ears curtled at his feigned soothing tone. There was a hush, with only the clatter of trampling feet ascending various points on the platform. She brushed her hand through her hair, clinging tightly to the bag in her hand. It hadn't been worth it to go get it. It was selfish. She had _wanted _the damn thing so badly. InuYasha needed her and she was drifting further away.

Koga cleared his throat and reached into his cotton pocket for a tissue. He graciously blotted at her mottled cheeks, "Why don't we wait for the next one and head back together. I would really enjoy the company, and that way, you won't have to worry so much." His teeth were spread in a daunting smile that Kagome believed in.

She was unsure of his intentions, and why he was there in the first place, but Tokyo was the city where dreamers used to find solace. Everyone had business to attend to, and he must have had his fair share. "I..." A snivel tore her breath away as she closed her eyes, reliving the moment. "I just want to go home."

The burly man ruffled his short hair and looked over his shoulder. That geisha had no idea what she was talking about. Kagome was as good as his by the end of it. "Listen, why don't we get you cleaned up and get you something to eat?"

"That's very nice of you, Koga-kun." Kagome smiled weakly. "I just have to wait for the next train. I have to." She pleaded, fighting the storm raging beneath her skin. "I feel at a loss, and the hole in my heart can't possibly grow any bigger. I need to be here and find InuYasha."

The man shot her a narrow glare, barely acknowledging her frantic behavior. She wasn't paying any attention to his offer and it was damn near impossible to not want to slap her. Those dewy gray eyes were stealing the very last shreds of his humanity. He had to have her. Now wasn't the time, he deduced dejectedly. "Fine, so be it, Kagome." He nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'll wait with you and we can go home together. I had to tend to family matters, and put my father to rest. It's been very hard to manage the past few months, and I'm sorry if I came off too strong at first."

Kagome shook her head, plucking the facial mask from around her neck. "It's alright, Koga. We all have our own share of despair, and I can't let all of this get to me. There's always an answer, right? I guess that you turned out to be what I was looking for." She said brightly, feeling her nerves begin to settle. "My mother passed recently, and I'm sorry for your loss as well." Her voice was subtle in its grieving. Her heart ached for InuYasha and the look on his face. She never wanted to see him like that. It felt like failure.

And, as she listened to Koga expose the trivial aspects of his day, there was nothing sincere. She progressively dissolved and forgot how to adhere to his voice, and become engaged. He just stared back at her with a burning behind his eyes. He was animated, exburant with every word that fell out of his mouth. She could see why girls fawned over him like they did. However, she could never have seen herself falling in love with him.

It was like staring at a kettle. You could stand there all day and the damn thing wouldn't sing. The second you look away, the world could here the song it made...

Expelling a sigh, Kagome forced a smile and glanced towards a chart in the midst of the station. A few people were looming around it like crows on a fence. "I guess we need to see which train is going to take us to Tama."

Koga blinked at her, completely enthralled by the movement of her rosy lips. "Uh, yeah. I'll walk over there with you. Don't want anyone kidnapping you." He teased halfheartedly.

Leaning down, he smelled the sweet scent premeating from her hair and reveled in her closeness. The urge to grasp at the exposed, tender flesh upon her neck was too much to bear. Just once he wanted to feel her and make the temptation disappear. Yet, as he walked with her, he realized that she was going to remain distant.

Even as she read the schedule, she found more delight in arriving before midnight than she had the duration of their conversation. He studied her expressions, her passions, her ethereal way of thinking and moving like she was connected to everything. Everything in the world moved for her.

This was obsessive.

Never had his heart beat with such a tempo! Merely existing next to her, even through her aching, he wished to possess her affection. She talked about InuYasha and all of the places they had been and about her mother. Fabricating stories about a father that he had never met was grandoise and far reaching in an intangible realm.

But she gave him the benefit of the doubt and opened herself up little by little. The afternoon wore on as his lies became more suited for a story book. Kagome almost jumped out of her skin when she found a beaten metal car slid up to the platform. Her eyes shined like diamonds as she dug around her pocket for her note.

Koga could hardly wait to get into the warmth of the train as they seated themselves and sped off into the haze. When she fell asleep from exhaustion, his hands roamed over her supple skin; tracing circles over her cheeks and collar. He chewed at his lip as she groaned, hoping that she would remain in this state.

The remaining fervor in her marrow, rattled her bones when she turned to him, hand searching for it's mate. "InuYasha..." She murmured. The stalky wood arm rest cradled her as Koga held his breath, gripping to her small hand. He quaked beneath the static rolling through his fingers.

A blush firmed planted on his cheeks as he watched her in silence. The trip would be over soon, and his plans would come to fruition.

_A little longer_. He told himself as he glanced at the changing terrain. A little longer and he would offer her a life that she couldn't refuse. If InuYasha died, his chances of obtaining her would be increasingly resolute.

It was like blowing down a house of cards. A smirk curled at the corner of his lips. There was nothing to do now, but let the world unravel.

And, in that, Koga's mind wandered to InuYasha. Such a sap of a human being couldn't possibly sustain himself without the help of others. It would only be a matter of time, wouldn't it? The tuberculosis would slowly deteriorate his organs and leave him mute as he faded into the back of everyone's minds.

With a sigh, Koga lolled his head back and dreamt of the moment. All the while, Kagome lay still, full of hope and wonderment that InuYasha was waiting for _her_.

**In Tama**, the late evening swallowed the landscape with darkness. The only lights shown brightly from the lanterns, and one or two street lamps, hanging over the streets like willows. A young man had been quick to help InuYasha rouse from his faint and offered him a seat in his exchange for conversation.

When the train had stopped, Jakotsu, the young man, had brightly expressed his admiration for someone with such a strong will. InuYasha had garnered the attention with hesitance, finding this boy's enthusiasm to be wrought with more lustful gazes that Kagome had ever given him.

Yet, he let him escort him off the steep steps and into the wet cobble street. InuYasha searched through the herds of people, hoping that maybe she would have already been there. When he didn't see her, his eyes landed on the rickshaw, laying in a blanket of ice and thrush snow.

Jakotsu waved his goodbye and helped his brother pull luggage from the cart, leaving the man alone. _Finally._ His mask came tumbling off his face as he breathed in the fresh air and unadulterated nectar on the gentle breeze. The only thing he feared here was that Kagome wouldn't return.

Graciously, he closed his eyes and gripped to his cane as he weaved through central bonfire gathering as they roasted a boar. It wasn't hard to find the monk standing there with a flask in one hand and a woman in the other.

As the heat of the fire crisped his flesh, he noticed that that woman belonged to the inn in the outskirt town. "Oi, Miroku, I need to speak with you." InuYasha called, gaining his friend's attention, as well as the attention of the blushing woman.

"As you can see I'm entertaining, but I don't see as a minute would be much of a problem." Miroku grinned, as Sango giggled upon seeing InuYasha's bewildered expression. He was polite enough to keep his mouth shut as the lude monk ushered him inside his home.

Upon closing the door, he sat InuYasha down in a chair. "Have your symptoms worsened?" He asked with concern, motioning to the bloodied cotton around his neck. Instinctively, he poured a cup of tea from his kettle and offered it to him.

"Yes, but you remember Kagome?"

"Ah, of course. Beauty like that only comes through this town one in a life time." Miroku chided, glancing out his window. "Well, twice if you count that pretty thing. I really like her. She came hoping through here on business."

"Sango?" InuYasha asked.

The man's round cheeks lifted in delight. "You know her, as well? Take you out of the wildnerness and you become an animal don't you?"

"No. I'm trying to ask you to do something." InuYasha barked, strangling out a cough.

"I understand, InuYasha." Miroku reached for a small stool and sat upon it, reading the thick lines that ran course around InuYasha's eyes. "Did something happen?"

"We were separated on the train and I wanted to make sure she made it back here. If she does, will you tell her to wait here?"

"Of course. I wouldn't send any woman into the winter cold."

For a moment, it was quiet as Miroku ran his eyes over the man. His hands wrung around the cup, spilling the hot liquid over his fingers and onto the thin haori. The desolation in his eyes lead the monk to believe that there was more going on that he was willing to share, and let him have the privy of knowing he still had some secrets.

"Love is turbulent, you know that." Miroku sighed deeply, patting the man on the shoulder. "There's one more train that comes through. It rattles the whole place, so no one will sleep through it anyway."

With a nod, InuYasha cleared his throat and forced out a cough. There was no blood this time, but the force made his throat burn with the strenuous movement. "If there's a man," He sucked in a breath, "If there's a man, get her away from him. I'm pretty sure he followed her to Tokyo when we stayed in town. She adores Sango, so it shouldn't be hard."

Miroku smiled softly. His cherubic face hid the myriad of emotions playing silently behind his eyes. "Done." Was all he said as he grabbed a satchel and placed baked goods inside. Handing it to InuYasha, he gave him his space as he left.

There was no point in stopping him from whatever he was doing, and he let him be as he shucked his belongings onto the buried rickshaw. He slid the cane into the nook, as he pulled the cart from its resting place.

The past week had been of a sound haze. There was nothing that he could do. Kagome had crept under his skin and he wanted to love her. It sickened him that Koga had been so caluculating and was probably taking advantage of her situation. He wasn't much of a threat to her safety, he thought darkly.

It didn't change the circumventing formulas that pulsated through the very heart of the situation. There was still that chance that she was in danger. Men, especially, were not to be trusted in these conditions. The war had brought out the worst in humanity, and some how managed to give life to Kagome as she opened her arms to those around her.

A hiss cut through his mouth as he entered his forest. Raising his eyes, he brought himself to halt. This was where it all started. He could blame her for making him run across the country, but he wouldn't have known what existed if it hadn't.

He longed for the gentle touch of her hands, and the serendiptious sound of her laughter. Plumes of his breath caught the cold night as he looked back at the buildings in the distance. The sky read an hour well before haunting, and if it was any consolation, he would wait for her there. Hesitantly, he looked down at the cart and grabbed his axe and slid it into the waist of his trousers.

The cane was left abandoned with his medical mask. He didn't need those damn things, he didn't. He glowered. The crushing weight of his body on his knees and feet were brutal, but he wouldn't be eviscerated in his territory.

With each wobbling step, he breathed and adjusted to the pain robbing him of solace. Kagome's safety was more important than feeling sorry for himself and his ailment. And in that, he steadying himself along the backs of the buildings as he made his way to the lonely drop off. The cold night whistled through his clothes as he perched upon a stump.

The field was alive with howls and yelps from the creatures roaming their hunting grounds, and he listened to the melodies until the moon arched into the center of the sky. The stars sent letters to lovers that had passed, and he thought of Kikyo. She would have been disappointed that his love for her diminished over the years. Still ever present, and transfixed by the desire of unfinished longing.

Kagome was slowly flooding the well with a need that was stolen from the aggrivation of the war. He was a man, a worrysome one at that. If she chose to be his and stay in the throws of his forest, he would love her until the day he died.

He felt guilty that no other woman could sway his heart or replace the deathly quiet with a flourish of color and vibrance. If it weren't for his nerves, and the fear that she may not come back to him, sent him into a mute frenzy.

His heart trembled in tune with his hands as his legs shifted, resounding into a crescendo of anxiousness as the first signs of the train appeared. Pushing himself to his feet, he peered around the corner, brushing his coarse hair from his eyes. "Please be on that damn thing." He mouthed, feeling his body tighten.

He was throwing all of his hope onto the _chance_ that she would be there. And, that _chance_ was almost as lost as her _want _to immigrate. Waiting on baited breath, the locomotive came barreling through the blackness like a banshee whailing.

"Please." InuYasha muttered, stumbling to the door of the train. The conductor steamed the door and parted it, removing his hat to scratch his tired head. The light spilled onto the ground as passengers began to dismount. His eyes skimmed over the windows, just hoping to see her face.

"I told you, Koga-kun. I'm going to get some sleep and maybe I'll see you soon. We're both going through a lot of changes, and I really just want to go home."

_That voice_ made InuYasha's body unravel and numb itself to any affliction. For, there in the mouth of the car, Kagome brushed away Koga's hands as he tried to help her.

"Please, Kagome." He pleaded, eyes shining with desperation. How many times she had denied him made his blood boil.

"I said - InuYasha!" The girl exclaimed, throwing herself off the train as she saw his lanky form nervously waiting for her. Koga glared at the man as she ran to him, completely ignoring _his _presence.

Kagome's arms wrapped around InuYasha's waist and let her head fall against his chest. She was overcome. It seemed that he was relieved and let his body fall slack beneath her grasp. All the while, Koga huffed and glowered at the display. People behind him nudged at his back for him to move and he decided his next action.

Sucking in a breath, the man forced a smile and called Kagome's name. "I'm glad you found him! I was happy to keep you company!"

InuYasha smirked and waved a weak thanks. "I'm glad you were there to help her." He rasped, his voice curt with blantant disregard and apprehension.

Kagome waved as Koga slid back into the train. She let out a sigh of relief as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "How are you feeling?" She asked, beaming at him with her swollen eyes.

The man gripped her hand and began to walk with her. "I'm fine. I told you not to worry about me, didn't I? All I've done today is hope you were going to make it here."

Kagome frowned and inched her way over the snow capped steps. "Can we just go home?"

InuYasha rolled an eye over her and furrowed his brows. "Where is your home?" He asked, trying to make out her expression in the dark.

Silence clung to her throat as the main street in Tama shown dimly. It was empty aside from the last glint of the fire lazily kissed the shadows.

"I," Kagome swallowed, "Let me... let me come home with you." She eventually whispered, feeling his hand tighten around hers.

"You know what will happen, don't you?" InuYasha said vacantly, staring into the depths of the forest growth. It was all decaying around them, and the town was sleepless in their own homes. He assumed Miroku had taken Sango in for the evening and knew all too well.

Kagome reached up and grabbed his chin, pulling him down to look her in the eye. The look he had seen crawl across her face in Shimbashi was eagerly manifesting. "That you'll die? That I'll become attached and that we will dissolve as people? You don't want me to see your uncertainty?"

The man licked his lips and breathed warmly on her face. "Kagome, I don't know how long I'll live. If I'm lucky, another twenty years. If not, it could be tomorrow. I can't protect you from your feelings, but I can protect you from mine."

"No. I would rather throw myself to those wolves than to leave you. If I am afflicted, what does that matter? You are the only thing that I have, and it's wrong for me to feel so strongly about my attachment to you."

"You're all I have and I don't think of it as a burden. I have the trees, my axe, and you, remember?" InuYasha grinned, biting his lip.

Kagome brushed back his bangs, pressing her mouth over his chapped lips. The taste of iron was still dulling his saliva, but the absence of cigarettes made him that much sweeter. She was done crying and resolved her attractions in this one gesture.

The damning cold was wrapped around them, peeling through the orafices in their clothing. She could feel her body thrum with heat, igniting a pulsating cry. It ran to her toes as she indulged in him and the way he rasped her name into her mouth.

Today's divergence proved to be agonizing as her hands fisted in the woodsman's shirt. The stars could fall from their celestial blankets, and tumble down like feiry chariots and she would still be more captivated by this man than any unearthly treasure.

In the back of her mind, she wondered why he told her to run. She had paced and meandered through her life like a caged bird, circling the same terrain until she was utterly spent. This freedom and safety which he provided, no matter his condition, made her heart rupture at the admiration that spilled into her pores.

She craved this closeness. Being with Koga, and listening to his stale words create a masterpiece of his all encompassing life, was not enough to make her feel any differently. And, as the forest creaked and hummed against the winds, Kagome found herself struggling against the rickshaw. Her back pressed into the harden wood, while her hands gripped to the edges in an attempt to hold herself up.

InuYasha's long arms pinned her in place, absorbing her warmth into his own body. He needed to _feel _her. These past few days were torturous, building to this point where he should have relented and stopped these peddling emotions from beseiging his judgment. No respectable man would have enclosed a woman as if she were nothing more than a body.

Yet, Kagome willed him, swallowed the rationality still bleeding into his mind. If he passed come morning, he wanted to remember what she felt like as he transcended. Every muscle in his body ached in this dire weather as his legs trembled upon her sliding her hand into the fold in his haori.

The feel of her tiny fingers grazing his flesh made him hiss. Even through the blackness that engulfed them, the hint of incandescence gleamed against her eyes as she lured him closer in this frantic dance.

Kagome's legs wove around his abdomen as she steadied herself atop the cart. Her fingers quivered in their attempts to free herself from her coat. "I can't the damn buttons undone!" The girl whined in the midst of a pant.

InuYasha held her hair out of her face, trailing languid kisses down her throat and collar. "Fuck it, Kagome." He huffed, drunk off of her taste.

"I-" She gasped. Her hands wound into the roots of his hair, pulling him closer as his teeth grazed the nape of her neck. Each touch sent shivers to her cuticles, her stomach, her heart. "I need this."

InuYasha swallowed, pushing her back against the slanted rickshaw. He fumbled with the button on his trousers as she fumbled with the hem of her dress. One hand leaned against the side of her head as he breathlessly slid himself into her, eliciting a hoarse groan.

Kagome closed her eyes, silently crying out as he began to move. Her hands shook. She clawed at him, wanting him deeper, wanting him closer than humanly possible. She parted her eyes to see the strained expression on his face, lost in somesort of illusion.

Each thrust was vigorous, powerful as she held on to him. All the while, he was careful to keep her safe with his own body, hiding her from the rest of the world. The girl kissed him softly, barely able to catch her breath.

She thumbed over his cheeks, feeling the cold sweat clinging to him. He stared at her with this fervor that made gooseflesh rise all along her body. Crying his name over and over, the man became eratic and stifled a cough as he rested his forehead on hers.

In the wake of the moment, Kagome lolled her head back, mouth part to whisper anything that wanted to come out. It had been abrupt, painstakingly new and she didn't care about the small trails of blood left behind.

All of the mystery was gone.

What remained was opportunity, and one that she would take with her to her death bed. That static in her veins ripened as her hands played with the strands of his hair. Weakly, he grabbed ahold of her hand and pulled it against his chest, staring at his axe laying in the snow. The faintest of howls billowed in the forest, making the girl tense.

"Hush, Kagome." InuYasha said drowsily, smiling against the askew breast of her coat. "No wolf is going to take you from me. I feel guilty that it took one nearly killing you to let me find you, but I'm glad that it happened." He laughed.

Kagome sniveled at the cold, "I never knew that this would happen. I thought you were going to leave me that first day."

He shrugged, "I thought about it, but you just show up out of nowhere and took me away from that loneliness. I don't look at you as a burden. I should be thankful. The only downside was that my symptoms worsened. They come and go. I need to rest, but I don't want to take you away from what you know."

Kagome nudged his chin until he looked at her. "I know you."


End file.
